Trials and Tribulations
by Invieri
Summary: To fight the threat of raid on the outer colonies, a new breed of soldier was needed to combat the threat. Something more than the N-Programme. Folks need their hero's. A battered soldier is recruited into the Normandy's fold. Can this one soldier be enough to turn the tide against the Collectors and the Reapers? Humanities Reclamation has begun, and we are hopeless to stop it.
1. Chapter 1

\- CHAPTER 1

Shepard stalked out of the QEC room after his brief conversation with the 'Illusive man'. Despite the gratefulness he felt at having a second chance to live, he couldn't stand the thought of working for that man. The man hadn't even offered an explanation as to what had happened on the Migrant Fleet when he'd demanded an answer - after all, he'd take Tali's word over his, no matter the situation.

Sighing, he shook his head as he jogged up the stairs, wanting to be as far away from the room as physically possible - given the circumstances. He had a mission to focus on now, even a team to build. He smiled slightly, perhaps he could get a few of the old team-mates together. He'd try and get into contact with Anderson about borrowing Ashley for the operation. Garrus he'd have to track down and he already knew where Wrex and Liara were thanks to a few surprising answers to a few questions he's had surrounding his old team.

By the time he'd reached the main lobby where Miranda and Jacob were busy doing their own thing, he was already thinking of a dozen different ways of searching for his old contacts, regaining his Spectre status and also a plan of action for recruiting a new set of squad members. He smiled to himself for the first time in two years, though to him it had only been a few days - he was still having difficulty wrapping his head around the one small fact. Shrugging it off, he spotted Jacob sitting on one of the white benches that dotted the lobby of the Cerberus station. With his armored boots clacking against the polished tiled floor, he began making his way over towards the biotic.

He was halfway to the other side of the lobby when he stopped in his tracks, his eyes catching something in the corner of his vision. Slowly, he turned to his left and slowly advanced on the glass window that stood between the lobby and what appeared to be an R&amp;D lab of some sort.

"Miranda?" He called out, briefly glancing over his shoulder towards the raven haired woman in the corner. When she glanced up at his voice, he motioned her over with his fingers. He didn't have to look a second time to know she'd probably be scowling at him. Hell, he could almost feel it.

"Can I help you Commander?" The Australian asked, coming to a halt next to him. He merely pointed towards the corner of the room where it appeared a suit of armor was hooked up to a wide variety of machines and monitors, seemingly monitoring everything and anything physically possible.

"What kind of armor is that? I've never seen anything like it. It looks like it'd be too heavy for a Human to wear too." He noted, spotting the evidently thick plates protecting the various parts of the body you would expect to be armored. The metal was a shade of black with some gold highlights on both shoulder pieces, the chest piece and what appeared to be a single stripe cutting vertically down the helmet but ending at the top of the visor. It might have been metallic at some point, but it appeared as if wear and tear had turned the finish into a sort of matt texture. The visor itself was a stark contrast to the two colours that adorned the rest of the armor. The faceplate was a powerful and reflective blue. Effective, as it'd not allow anyone talking to the wearer to physically see any facial expressions without their say-so.

"That's… out of my field of knowledge Commander. For the past two years, I was the head of the Lazarus cell, not this one. I'm sorry." She replied, folding her arms over he chest and leaning on her left hip. Shepard nodded slowly, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"That's a shame," he replied, "that armor looks like it's worth the credits put into it." He took a further step forward, coming to a stop before the glass. He paused a moment, watching the man inside type on his Omni-tool. When it appeared the man had finished, Shepard tapped on the glass. The man inside practically jumped out of his skin, dropping his pad onto the floor as he scrambled to catch it - his attempt being in vain however. Shepard motioned to the door to the lab, to which the man inside nodded apologetically and rushed to open it for him.

"I'm terribly sorry about that! I had no idea you were there. Scared me half to death." The aging man chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. By this point, the broad shouldered Jacob Taylor had joined Shepard and Miranda. Shepard smiled at the man, "It's okay, it was my fault. What's your name?" He asked, looking at the slightly shorter man.

"My name is James Ackerson. I used to be a Major with the Systems Alliance Special Forces. R&amp;D division though. Though, I don't need an introduction to know who you are son. Glad you wizened up and joined the right cause." He nodded, leaning against the doorway lazily. Shepard had to grind his teeth to avoid saying something stupid.

"What'cha working on in there? Looks damn impressive." Shepard asked, choosing to ignore Ackerson's comment. The man waved the three inside the room.

"Psh, nothing particularly remarkable. A complete failure if you ask me. Tell me son, do you remember the battle of Elysium?" The older man asked, contempt for what was before him practically dripping from his mouth.

"Vaguely. Most I heard about that was Scuttlebutt. Some soldiers defended against something like, a thousand or so Batarians, right?" He asked, looking at the suit of armor and wondering what it's relation to the planet.

"Ha! You'd have been smart to have listened to the scuttlebutt a little more. You kids ever hear of 'Spartans'?" Ackerson asked, looking between the three.

"Rumors mostly. Soldiers even more elite than those the N7 programs deliver. Any attempts to find any real Spartans have been useless though. Even missions where one is mentioned in passing are highly classified." Miranda noted, folding her arms once again over her breasts and raising an elegant eyebrow.

Jacob's response was much more enthusiastic however, "No way they're rumors. I had friends stationed there at Elysium. They saw Spartans deploying, hell they even saw some in combat. Damned impressive from what I've been told. No other reports since then though, and that was a good seven years ago. Doesn't sound like something a bunch of people just 'make up'." He noted, stepping up closer to the suit.

Ackerson merely chuckled and pointed at the suit, "Well boys and girls, you're looking at one." though Shepard heard him add, "Damned freaks of nature" under his breath.

"No way!" Jacob gasped, reaching out and touching one of the metal plates. Miranda merely stepped up closer and lifted the head of the suit up slightly, so it wasn't slouched forward. All but Ackerson jumped when a groan was heard from inside the Suit.

Jay groaned as his senses slowly began to come back online. He could hear sounds, but couldn't distinguish anything. Everything hurt like hell.

_What happened?_

_Where am I?_

He couldn't count the amount of questions running through my head. _Ugh, come on soldier! Grow a pair!_ He ordered himself, forcing his body to move his fingers slightly. Jay felt the armor respond to his orders, and he watched his visor as the suit slowly began to power itself back up.

_Damn I love this suit._ He chuckled inwardly, watching first as a 2D representation of both his front and back came up on the left side of his HUD, highlighting any injured areas of his body. Thankfully, there were none. Next came the radar as it began searching for any outside threats. The software was programmed so that in the event it boots up and he or the wearer were in a hostile environment, the suit would seemingly 'fast load' and force start every system. When the radar pinged four unknowns in the same room as him, the suit snapped to life. Instantly Jay's kinetic shields were brought online, followed quickly by the rest of his HUD.

What greeted him wasn't the sight of Batarian slavers or frightened civilians, but the face of a woman with raven black hair, long eyelashes and full lips.

_That's new. Maybe I should get into this situation more often…_ he thought. When his eyes darted around the room however and he spotted the three men stood behind her, all in varying states of shock, his combat training kicked in. The HUD instantly decided that the one in the full combat armor was the largest threat, the other two were currently unknowns.

Jay lunged forward, tackling the man in the black armor to the ground, he was vaguely surprised however when he rolled with the landing - a surprising achievement to have reacted so quickly to a Spartan. Jay raised his arm to deliver a quick and lethal jab to his head when he found himself lifted off of the man. Quickly, Jay looked around as he fought the blue aura that enveloped his body from the neck down.

Jay found the fact he was spread eagle and floating backwards slightly humiliating, so he fixed them with a glare that they wouldn't see. It was a shame really. It was a good glare.

The man in the black armor coughed slightly as he stood up, clearly rattled by the tackle. Good.

"So, you're a Spartan?" The older looking man asked. The way he just seemingly 'appeared' in front of the mirrored visor just _screamed_ 'sleaze-ball'. The Spartan didn't say anything however.

"If he is a Spartan, he won't talk to anyone that isn't of some military ranking Ackerson. Besides, he just tackled a superior officer." The man in the dark armor groaned, his hands on his knees as he attempted to nurse the air back into his lungs. Jay froze for a second, thinking of the repercussions of a Spartan doing such a thing. Suffice to say, the man was lucky a biotic had stopped him. Looking to his left, he saw the third man he'd seen with his arms stretched out before him, holding him up.

Jay looked for anything that could give me some sort of clue as to who was being held by. "Name and rank, sir?" he asked, looking back at the darkly armored man.

"Commander John Shepard. N7 marine." He replied, folding his arms across his chest. Jay nodded slowly.

"Gunnery Chief Jay-049." Jay responded, watching as the biotic field slowly dissipated from around his body. Adrenaline gone, he landed on one knee, his hands on the floor as he tried to will the pain to go away. He groaned slightly but beside that, all he could do was deal with his injuries when time permitted. Slowly, Jay stood up and saluted the Commander.

"At ease. What are you doing here?" He asked, looking curiously up into the blue visor. Jay appeared to be a good few inches taller than Shepard - though that was to be expected.

"Unknown sir. Permission to speak freely sir?" Jay asked, resting his aching arms at his sides. The Commander nodded silently.

"Where am I sir? Last I remember I entered cryo in orbit of Elysium…" Jay glanced around again and saw the white walls and the lab equipment. "Am I in a science lab, sir?" He asked.

"You are son, don't worry though, we'll get you out of that armor as soon as possible." Ackerson spoke up. Jay still wouldn't trust that man as far as he could throw him.

"Sorry sir, but unless I see authorisation from the correct authorities, not even this helmet is being let out of my sight." he grunted, shaking his head at him. Jay almost chuckled when he caught his glare.

Shepard cleared his throat slightly, "I guess that's fine. Though, I suppose that a _Spartan_ wouldn't want to be stuck in a lab for the near future, correct?"

Jay shifted slightly as he glanced around the room. No Spartan had fond memories of an environment such as this. "No sir."

For the first time, the woman spoke up, "Shepard, we can't just take him with us. The Illusive man doesn't have his-" She was cut off by the Spartan.

"'Illusive man'?" He questioned, his hands already balling into fists. "This isn't an Alliance station, is it?" he growled, dangerously. The Commander shook his head and raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Look, I don't care who these three work for. _I'm_ still Alliance. The group these three work for just happened to bring me back from the dead. We came in here because I was wondering what your armor was, that's when you woke up. Now you're awake and now I know what you Spartans are capable of, I was wondering if you'd like to join my squad." Shepard replied, earning a glare from the woman to his side. The Spartan merely crossed his arms.

"You were dead?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"What's the mission? Was it issued by the Alliance?" Jay asked, looking around the room again.

"No, it wasn't. Whole colonies are going missing and the Alliance isn't doing anything to stop the abductions. This organisation and I are working together for now to put an end to it. They provide the ship and the funding, and I pick out a team of specialists to take the fight to the people responsible for this." Shepard responded, taking a step closer to the soldier.

"Who's the target?"

"The Collectors." John replied, watching as Jay nodded slowly. After another tense moment, the Spartan shrugged.

"Sure, count me in. Wouldn't be doing my job otherwise. Fuck, I haven't done my job since I went into cryo. Figure nap times over now, huh?" He drawled, looking at the Commander. The N7 merely chuckled and began walking out the door, the darkly coloured man and the woman following him out, the smaller mans protests falling on deaf ears right before Jay followed them out and closed the door.

* * *

"So you're a Spartan, huh? You one of those that fought on Elysium?" Jacob asked as they stood waiting for the crew to board the _Normandy_. It'd been a whole day since he woke up, and he'd spent the time reading up on recent events. According to the extranet, his newest CO was the first ever Human Spectre and the hero of the Citadel to boot. He nodded absently to the man stood to his right.

"I was the highest ranked Spartan." Jay replied, watching as men and women brought various supplies aboard with them.

"Damn. I could only imagine how proud you must be. I mean, in charge of men and women who received better equipment and training than the N7's themselves. Hard to think you've got any weaknesses with that suit of yours." Jacob responded appreciatively, patting the Spartan on his shoulder armor.

"I was." The Spartan muttered, folding his arms over his chest.

"Was? What, did something happen?" Jacob asked, a frown on his face.

"I'd rather not talk about it Jacob. Besides, it's classified." Jay shrugged, stepping onto the ship and motioning for Jacob to follow him.

The _Normandy_ wasn't anything like he'd served on before in his military career. Instead of the navy blue colour scheme that seemed to find it's way aboard every Alliance ship, this vessel had a distinct chrome feel to it. Thankfully, it was also much brighter than an Alliance ship. Shepard and Miranda stood to their right in the cockpit and the airlock closed and the distinct rumble of the engines firing up could be felt throughout the ship. Jay and Jacob silently joined them, watching as the stealth frigate silently pulled out of it's hangar and entered FTL just beyond the station. With a wide grin on his face, Shepard turned around after patting Joker's chair - he'd quickly made a point to learn the crews names - and began walking down bridge towards the CIC and the galaxy map. The three members of the ground team silently followed him, all marvelling in some form at the beauty of the ship.

John paused at the steps down into the CIC as Jacob spoke up, "Welcome to the new _Normandy_ Commander." Even Jay could see from the way Shepards breathing slowed for a second and then continued as normal that he was preparing to take control of a ship that held so many memories in another life. It would've been a surreal experience for anyone.

"I've been looking over the dossiers. I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring Mordin Solus, the salarian professor on Omega. We know the Collectors use some type of technology to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us." Miranda pointed out, resting a hand on her hip. From behind the safety of his suit, Jay silently noted that the posture caused the audience to look down towards her body rather than her face. A curious thing indeed, though Shepard seemed immune to that kind of thing it seemed, as Jay noticed with a slight smirk.

"Without that counter-measure, we'll be helpless if we ever run into the Collectors." John agreed with a nod.

"Acquiring Professor Solus seems like the most logical place to start." A computerised voice spoke up from various speakers nearby.

"A VI?" Jay asked, looking around the CIC. On the terminal behind Shepard, a small blue hologram appeared, a vertical 'mouth' opening and closing when it replied; "I am the _Normandy's_ artificial intelligence. The crew refer to me as EDI."

"Helmsman aren't happy when someone takes control of the ship away from them. Especially Joker." Shepard pointed out as he turned to face the hologram and crossed his arms.

"I do not helm the ship. Mr Moreau's talents will not go to waste." EDI replied, "During combat, I operate the electronic warfare and cyber-warfare suites. Beyond that, I cannot interact with the ship's systems. I observe and offer advice, nothing more." EDI informed them politely before winking out of existence.

Shepard shrugged before turning back towards the tree behind him, "Now we've got that sorted out, let's move on to these dossiers." he suggested, earning nods from Miranda, Jacob and Jay.

"Final preparations are complete Commander. Just select the destination on the galaxy map in the CIC and I'll get us there in one piece." Joker chimed in from the cockpit. John nodded and wiped a hand down his face slowly.

"Jacob and I should return to our posts. Come find us if you have any questions." Miranda spoke up after a moment of silence. Without waiting for the Commander to respond, Miranda brushed past him and began walking towards the elevator while Jacob offered a crisp salute before jogging off towards the armory.

"Sir?" Jay asked, his hands behind his back and his feet a shoulders width apart as he stood at ease. John glanced at him before nodding. "Where shall I be assigned? Also… I'd like to get out've this armor. Do we have any heavy lifting gear?" The Spartan asked, watching as John furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"The cargo hold was fitted with a small prefab as soon as the Illusive man was informed you were joining the crew. You will also find a small station where you will be able to remove your armor there." EDI announced over the speakers. Jay nodded appreciatively before saluting the Commander and heading towards the elevator.

* * *

Jay groaned in appreciation as he watched the mechanical arms remove the various pieces of armor that were bolted on to his under-suit. As the final piece of his body armor was stowed away beneath the floor, all that was left was the helmet.

A _Spartan's_ helmet.

Slowly, almost painfully so, Jay stepped up to the small wall mirror that he'd been lucky enough to have been given in his hastily erected prefab. The mirror was next to the re-enforced cot that was built into the wall, the bed already made. Carefully, he raised a hand to either side of the piece of armor and gently made a twisting motion to his left, disconnecting the seal as he felt genuine air on his neck for the first time since before Elysium. He winced at the thought of that. Had it really been so long since that disaster? Had he really lost so much of his life? More importantly, did any of the others make it? He sighed, mentally shaking the thoughts from his head as he lifted the helmet off.

He didn't even recognise the man in the mirror.

His hair was black and thick, just like it had been since he could remember. The sides of his hair were reaching the back of his jaw, while the back began trailing down his neck and his fringe brushed against his eyebrows. He sighed, knowing he'd have to shave it off soon before it began to become a nuisance. Taking a closer look at his face, he noticed the equally dark stubble on his face, his bright blue eyes and his slightly pale skin.

_Damn suit_. He thought, getting to work on changing out of the under-suit and into the BDU's he'd been provided that all the crew seem to be wearing. As he removed the upper half, his eyes caught the various tattoo's dotted over his upper body. He smiled thoughtfully, remembering each and every one and which of his team had done them. He twisted his body slightly so he could see his back and had to bite back a chuckle when he saw the Spartan motto inked onto his skin.

_Spartans never die. We just go to hell to re-group._

He wished he was surrounded by his team now. Remembering all the good times. The training they'd been through, all the missions. Hell, he'd fight through Elysium single handed again if it meant he could have another day with them. They'd all grown up together, lived together. They weren't a team - they were family.

"Interesting motto." a woman's voice pointed out, with a distinctly Australian accent.

"Lawson." Jay responded, turning around to see her leaning against the door frame. "I thought I'd locked it." He pointed out, knowing full well he had. She merely smirked.

"I posses codes for all the doors on this vessel. Being the XO, of course." She replied, folding her arms over her chest. Jay shrugged his shirt on, his tattooed arms a contrast to the black and white shirt.

"What can I do for you?" He asked, not bothering with formalities and knowing full well she wasn't part of any military.

"Straight to the point. I like it. I came to learn a little bit about you to compile a dossier on you actually. Something we can use as a reference. Kelly Chambers - Shepards yeoman will be down later to talk to you as well." She nodded, moving towards the desk on the opposite side of the room to his cot and sitting on the chair that she'd spun to face him. Before saying anything else, she crossed her legs and typed a few things in though.

"Fine." Jay shrugged as he sat down on the cot and winced slightly as he heard a quiet groan from the metal.

"Firstly, you're a Spartan, correct?"

"That's classified, but yes. A Spartan II, to be specific." He replied, leaning back against the wall.

"We already know your first name, but what's your last name?"

"Dunno." He shrugged, watching her as she raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What do you mean, 'dunno'? Surely you know your last name?" She asked, leaning forward slightly.

"I gave it up when I joined the Spartan programme. That was a good number of years ago. Before you ask, no I won't say when that was. I won't reveal anything about the Spartan's or the Spartan programme to you either." He responded, folding his arms over his chest. She glared at him but carried on nonetheless.

"What is your role in combat?"

"Sniper, though I'm trained to use every weapon that's in existence. Highly effectively." He pointed out, smirking at the last bit. He raised an eyebrow slightly when she nodded and switched the datapad off. She leaned forward a little bit more in her seat, her legs still crossed as she hooked the hair on the left side her head behind her ear. Even he had to admit it was amazingly attractive. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her.

"The Illusive man wishes to extend an invitation for you to join Cerberus. Perhaps you could even train some more Spartans. If you were to accept his offer, your funding would be practically unlimited, you'd have access to any technology you need and-" His growling voice cut her off.

"Tell this to your Illusive man; Spartans _aren't_ for hire. We're Alliance soldiers, through and through. I'll die before I let Cerberus have access to anything Spartan related. Be it our training, our equipment or our soldiers. You can keep your offer. I'm here because my duty is to protect humanity. Whatever the cost." All that received was a stern glare before she stood up and stalked out of the prefab without another word.

As he watched Miranda leave, he was just about to close his eyes for a power nap when another voice spoke up, "Hell of a speech Jay." Shepard chuckled. Jay just smiled weakly.

"Can I help you Commander?" He asked, looking up at his CO from his position on the cot.

"I actually came here to talk about you on the field. I over-heard you mention you're a sniper?" He asked. Jay nodded before replying.

"Scout too. I can fulfil pretty much any role in a squad sir."

"That's pretty useful, though I'd suggest sticking to what you're best at. I'm just a regular grunt myself. Jacob mentioned you were the highest ranking Spartan?"

"Yes sir, though I don't know what that's worth to the Alliance anymore." He shrugged, watching as the Commander frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"After Elysium, I figure I'm the last Spartan. All others were either KIA or MIA in the battle." Jay grunted, running a tired hand down his face.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was wondering actually, seeing as we'll be getting a good number of specialists aboard eventually, if you'd like to lead the second fire-team when the time comes? You said so yourself that you were the CO of your Spartans. That kind of experience would be a hell of an asset when the time comes." Shepard replied, sitting in the same seat Miranda had been in only moments before.

"Is that a request or an order, sir?" He asked.

"A request." Shepard replied, a kind smile on his face.

"I'll think about it, sir." Jay nodded, "Is there anything else I can help you with?" He asked, watching as Shepard leaned back in his seat.

"What can you tell me about yourself? I like to get to know my crew." Shepard shrugged.

"Not much that isn't classified. I'm Jay-049, my rank is Gunnery Chief. I fought on Elysium with 33 other Spartans as eye-witness accounts will show. Uhm…" He tapped his chin for a moment and frowned in thought. "Oh! And I'm a Spartan II." He nodded, smiling slightly.

"Spartan II?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow. "So what, you're a second generation Spartan? Who are the first generations?" Shepard raised his second eyebrow when Jay chuckled slightly.

"That actually isn't classified. Truth be told, they're the most famous marines in the Alliance. The N7's." Jay smirked, watching as the Commander gaped. "Granted, you don't have all the augmentations we Spartan II's do. You don't get the same level equipment like us either. And your programme is… kinder." Jay added hastily with a grimace.

"What do you mean, 'kinder'?" Shepard asked.

"I mean that Spartan II's never got the chance to be something else. We always knew we were going to be Spartans. A lot of us… didn't make it past the augmentations." He grimaced again, remembering all the twisted skeletons or the Spartan recruits that would never walk again, or even wake up.

"What are these augmentations you keep mentioning?"

"Basically, my skeleton is re-enforced in a chemical that's hardened the bone to a point where it'd take me jumping out of an airlock into a planets atmosphere to break. Or something like that, anyways. My muscle density is also higher than that of a normal soldier. I could lift a Mako if I was in my suit. Not to mention my reaction times, eyesight and other various things. I'm designed to be the perfect soldier. Hell, my body's aging is even slowed down. I'd be classed as 'unfit for duty' when I hit eighty. As far as the Alliance brass is concerned though, Spartans aren't soldiers. We're military hardware, and damned effective too." Jay grinned, watching the shocked expression on the Commanders face.

"That's… damn." John sighed, shaking his head. Jay shrugged.

"It's fine Commander. I don't mind. The Alliance gave me a purpose, so I'm happy enough with that. Just point me at the Collectors, and you can be sure I'll kill at least a hundred for every human taken." He promised, a small smile forming on his lips. John smiled back at him.

"I'll let you get settled in. We're heading to Omega first. Be prepared to leave in the next twenty four hours. Get some rest. That's an order." Shepard winked, stepping out the door.

"Aye aye, sir!" Jay called back to him through the wall before laying back on his bed and closing his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

\- CHAPTER 2

Jay groaned as he opened his eyes. It only felt like a few minutes since he'd finally gotten some rest, but when he looked to his left at the small digital clock on his nightstand, it told him it was 0500 ship time. He groaned again, knowing he'd only gotten his usual six hours of sleep.

Rolling out of the bed, he quickly grabbed a towel from his desk and a clean set of BDU's from under his cot before making a swiping motion in front of the door and stepping out into the cold of the cargo bay. Resisting the urge to shiver, Jay quickly made his way to the elevator to begin his day.

The shower was surprisingly warm, for saying it was a ship. Jay had served on a few different vessels during his service, but had never once had the pleasure of a warm shower. He smiled to himself slightly as he rubbed the towel on his head. Feeling that much more relaxed and awake, he stepped out into the hallway after placing his laundry in the laundry chute. As he stepped around the corner, he noticed the Mess Hall was empty besides one occupant.

"Having trouble sleeping, Ms Lawson?" He asked, stepping up to the fridge to retrieve some food. Another pleasant surprise was the lack of MRE's. He could finally try some proper food.

"I like to eat alone." Came her cold response, as she scrolled through a datapad.

"No shit. You know, I can already tell you don't like me." He chuckled, purposefully sitting down opposite her as he began munching on a pre-made sandwich.

"And what gave you that impression, Gunnery Chief?" She asked, looking up at him briefly and raising an eyebrow.

"The fact I pretty much told you and your boss to fuck off last night?" He smirked, watching as her eyes narrowed slightly before he carried on, "See, I might not have been awake for long, but I like to make a point of knowing as much as possible about who I'm working with. Turns out, this… _Cerberus_ that you work with, is a pretty bad gig." He noted, taking another bite.

"Oh? I'm assuming you're making a blatantly obvious reference to the events of Akuze?" She asked, folding her arms and crossing her legs under the table.

"Damn straight. Hell, the Commander - from what I've read, was the only one to walk away from that. What must've been going through your boss' head when he authorised that?" He asked, leaning on the table as he made his point.

"The Illusive man didn't authorise that. They were a rogue cell - and I believe Shepard dealt with them, personally." She quickly pointed out. Almost a little too quickly. He ignored it however.

"See, Shepard may have dealt with it, but being the sole survivor changes you. And not for the better. No matter who you are, you're always going to be someone different." He grunted, his eyes flickering to the table for a brief moment.

"And that's your professional opinion then? That he's not the same as before that rogue cell ambushed them?"

"Damn straight. Tell me this, in your reports on Shepard that you must have somewhere, did any of them ever mention if he had difficulty sleeping or anything like that? That kind of thing can get a soldier killed in a fire fight. That's all it takes. One little fuck up." He pointed out, nodding slightly. He smirked a little when she didn't immediately have an answer.

"You're awfully more relaxed than you were yesterday." She pointed out, raising her eyebrow again. "I didn't think someone as highly trained as a Spartan would be swearing in front of the ships XO."

"Psh, you're not my CO. You're not even Alliance." He scoffed, leaning back in his chair, his sandwich forgotten.

"Nevertheless, I _am_ Shepards XO."

"No, you're the Illusive man's little pet. Tell you what, I'll even make you a deal." He grinned, leaning forward slightly, "If you actually spend time getting to know the crew, learn to help them if they need it and drop this 'Ice Queen' persona you've got going on, I'll let you - and only _you_ take a look at my armor's helmet. That means no reports to your boss and no Omni-tool. Just you, a screwdriver and a workbench." He grinned, knowing she'd find no valuable information in the helmet itself. He'd already removed the data storage device and hidden it in a storage compartment in his armor.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh please, you can't deny you've been gawking at my gear. You've wanted to get your hands on it since I woke up." He smirked, folding his arms again. For a few moments, she said nothing.

"Deal." She muttered, offering her hand for him to shake. He took it gently, knowing he could easily break it. He treated her hand like someone would treat a newborn baby. He smiled.

"I look forward to winning this wager Ms Lawson." He nodded, standing up and laughing all the way to the elevator.

* * *

Jay fidgeted slightly as they stood in the airlock to leave the _Normandy_. It was a little too cramped for his liking. He sighed, looking to his right where Shepard was stood patiently waiting with his arms folded, humming a little tune to himself. To his left, both Miranda and Jacob were checking their weapons. Jay himself was carrying a Vindicator rifle, one of the new Incisor sniper rifles and a Predator pistol. Over-all he was perfectly balanced for any situation - unless there was some heavy duty hostiles of course. The Commander had that one covered.

"So, we're here for Mordin Solus, a Mercenary called Zaeed Massani and Archangel." The Commander spoke up, reminding them of the objectives.

"I'd suggest starting with Mordin Solus, Commander." Miranda spoke up, in a rather polite tone, Jay noted with a raised eyebrow and a slight snicker.

"Wouldn't hurt to have another gun with us though." Jacob pointed out, folding his arms and leaning against the bulkhead.

"If we run into Zaeed, then we'll get him to tag along. Otherwise, we'll go for Mordin." Shepard conceded, nodding slightly as the hatch finally opened.

As the four of them stepped out into the station, from both Jacob and Miranda's reaction to the smell, Jay was silently thankful for his helmet's air scrubbers. He chuckled just loud enough for Miranda to hear him and glare at him. When he turned back around, he spotted a rather anxious looking Salarian hastily making his way over to them. Jay rested his hand on his pistol.

"Ah! Welcome to Omega! You're new here, aren't you? I can always-" He began in a scratchy voice, making a show of bowing before a deep, gritty voice cut him off. Jay had his pistol in his hand but at his side before anyone could stop him. A Batarian shoved the Salarian out of the way, two sets of eyes were on Shepard and the squad and the other two were focused purely on the Spartan.

"Leave, Fargut. Now." The Batarian growled out. The Salarian panicked, backing away and bowing repeatedly.

"Of course Moklan! Whatever she wants!" The Salarian stammered, practically running back to whatever little hole he crawled out of.

"Blasted scavengers. Welcome to Omega… Shepard." Moklan growled out, looking at Shepard directly, though only with the two eyes not focused on the Spartan.

"You know who I am?" Shepard asked.

"Of course. We had you tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You're not as subtle as you think." Moklan grinned, his razor sharp teeth on show, attempting to put Shepard off balance. "Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega. I suggest you go to Afterlife now and present yourself."

"Is that a threat?" Jay growled out.

"A suggestion." The Batarian sneered.

"Cut the attitude. I'm not here to cause problems for Omega." Shepard pointed out, looking between the Spartan and the Batarian.

"Things explode around you Shepard. You can't blame Aria for keeping an eye on you." Moklan said, shaking his head. "Afterlife. Now." He ordered, walking off down the corridor.

"I hate Batarians." Jay growled, resisting the urge to shoot him. Shepard sighed.

"Might as well get used to them, the stations crawling with them no doubt. Mostly thugs and Mercenaries." Miranda shrugged.

"Good. That means I can shoot them if they start anything." Jay shrugged, noticing Miranda and Jacobs raised eyebrows at what he was saying.

"C'mon, we've got work to do." Shepard sighed, just as EDI's voice chimed in over their comm. frequency.

"_Shepard, I have found that Professor Solus runs a clinic on Omega, however it's currently in the quarantined zone. There's a plague affecting aliens, however humans seem to be immune. I am currently monitoring radio chatter for the location of Archangel. Perhaps this Aria would know more."_

"Thanks EDI. Good work." Praised Shepard, as we walked past a Human Mercenary roughing up a Batarian. Shepard paused, bringing up his Omni-tool. After a few moments, Shepard walked over to the man, before he could say anything the Batarian began to beg.

"Please… you have to help me." He asked, wiping blood from his cheeks and lips as he attempted to stand.

"No-one said you could talk. Jackass." The rough, cockney accent of the Merc snorted, punching the groaning Batarian in the stomach and dropping him to the floor.

"You Zaeed Massani?" Shepard asked, looking around. The Mercenary turned around, revealing his scared face and one glassy eye.

"Yeah, that's me. You must be Commander Shepard. I hear we have a galaxy to save." Zaeed replied sarcastically. Jay had to resist the urge to snicker. Shepard smirked however.

"I assume you've been briefed?" The Commander asked.

"I've done my homework. Cerberus sent me everything I need to know." Zaeed snorted.

"My contacts told me I was picking up one man. Not two." Shepard pointed out, looking at the Batarian in particular.

"Batarian delinquent. Pissed off someone rich enough to hire me. And for my 'bring 'em in alive' rate, even." Zaeed muttered, looking down at the snivelling alien.

"Please… I didn't do it." He begged. Zaeed cut him off with a kick to the face.

"I said shut it. He tried to lead me on a chase all over the systems. He should have known better. These people always run to Omega." Zaeed shrugged, looking back at Shepard.

"What's your relation with Cerberus?" He questioned, eyeing him carefully. Zaeed shrugged again.

"Easy. Cerberus is paying me enough to help you with your little mission. That's the long and short."

"Not many mercs would take a suicide mission for the pay." John pointed out, folding his arms over his chest.

"Most mercs don't get an offer like Cerberus gave me. This mission doesn't sound like good business. But… your Illusive man can move a lot of credits." Zaeed grunted, turning around and looking down at the Batarian.

"Good to have you Zaeed. We have a lot to do." Shepard said when he turned back around. He stepped up to him and offered his hand. Zaeed immediately shook it.

"That's what they tell me." Zaeed nodded, smirking a little. He pulled out his pistol and motioned for the Batarian to stand. "I assume the Illusive man told you about our little arrangement?"

John snorted, "No, he didn't."

"Good thing I asked. Picked up a mission a little while back, just before I signed on with Cerberus. Thought you might be interested. You heard the name Vido Santiago? He's the head of the Blue Suns. Runs the whole organisation."

Shepard and the others shook their heads, so Zaeed continued.

"Seems he recently captured an Eldfell Ashland refinery and is using their workers as slave labour. The company wants it dealt with." Zaeed grunted.

"I'll make sure we get that done." Shepard nodded.

"Good. We can get it out the way so we can concentrate on being big goddamn heroes." Zaeed chuckled, throwing his arms up in the air. The Batarian took that as his moment to attempt an escape. Zaeed shot a single bullet while Jay stuck his left arm out, low enough to strike the Batarian in the neck just as the bullet hit him. The Batarian went crashing to the ground and groaning in pain, rolling on the floor as he coughed and spluttered.

"Nice job, tin can." Zaeed nodded, looking at Jay. Jay snorted, before glancing to his right where Miranda and Jacob were stood. Jacob was attempting to hide a smile and Miranda was scowling at him.

"What?" Asked Jay, holding his hands up in the air, "I didn't shoot him." He shrugged.

"I'd better turn this thing in before it starts to stink." Zaeed sneered, making his way over to the Batarian. "Don't worry, I'll be locked and loaded next time you're ready to get some killing done." Zaeed called over his shoulder.

"Meet us at Afterlife in thirty." Shepard ordered, earning a nod from the man. "Let's go." He said, turning towards the rest of the squad.

As the four began walking through the dim and flickering hallways of Omega, Miranda spoke up. "Never thought I'd come back to this piss-hole. Hasn't changed much." She shrugged, Jay noticed how she even managed to make something as simple as shrugging elegant - in her own way.

"Never been. Spartans can't exactly blend into a crowd when we're in our combat gear." Jay responded, shrugging as well.

"Really? I couldn't tell." She quipped, smirking slightly.

"Well played Ms. Lawson." he nodded, chuckling. Even Shepard and Jacob were chuckling slightly.

* * *

"That music is beginning to piss me off…" Jacob grumbled as they stood outside the entrance to Afterlife, waiting for Zaeed.

"That's why you need a helmet." Jay chuckled, tapping the side of his to emphasis his point. Jacob just groaned.

"I think if we have to come back here, I'm going to shoot myself." He muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. Jay and John snickered at the ex-soldiers discomfort while Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Shepard!" Zaeed called out as he almost 'swaggered' over.

"I like this guy." Jay chuckled, folding his arms over his chest.

"What's the deal with Omega then?" Zaeed asked as he joined them a few seconds later.

"We're looking for a Professor Solus and a vigilante called Archangel." Shepard responded, patting Zaeed on the shoulder. "This here is Miranda Lawson, my XO on the ship." He introduced, pointing to the Cerberus Operative.

"Pleasure." Zaeed grinned, winking his good eye. Jay watched amused as she grimaced but put on a polite smile.

"This here is our Armory officer, Jacob Taylor." He pointed to the darkly skinned Jacob Taylor. Jacob nodded politely.

"Cod piece." Zaeed nodded back. Jacob narrowed his eyes slightly. Jay chuckled again.

"And you've already met our last squad member. This is Alliance Spartan II, Jay-049." Shepard introduced. Zaeed whistled slightly, taking in the soldiers armor and size.

"A Spartan, eh? Heard rumors of you boys from some of my Alliance contacts. You look damned impressive, son." Zaeed nodded, offering Jay his hand which the Spartan shook.

"Good to meet you." Jay nodded. Zaeed turned back to Shepard.

"What're we at Afterlife for?" He asked. Shepard sighed as they stepped through the door.

"Aria wants to talk." He shrugged as they began the short walk down the corridor to where the music seemed to be coming from. Zaeed chuckled a little. As they walked down the corridor, it looked like a group of Batarians were going to try and start something, though when they caught sight of the Spartan they seemed to back off and went back to their seats.

Finally, they reached the door to the club and before the need to press any buttons, the door automatically opened, revealing the pulsating, sweaty and hormone laced atmosphere of Afterlife. Neon lights pulsed along to the music, people were drinking and dancing, Asari strippers on various platforms kept some male attention as they twisted and gyrated against their poles. Jay groaned within the confines of his helmet as they stepped into the club.

"I went to a place like this once. It was a shit 'ole. Places like these are goddamn slaughterhouses." Zaeed spoke over the music. As they walked past the bar, a Human reached out and pulled Miranda into his lap before she knew what was happening. She pushed herself away just as quickly, but the stranger wasn't having any of it.

"C'mon honey. I feel like getting lucky tonight." He slurred, stumbling forward slightly. Jay quickly stepped between the two as the drunken man walked into his chest armor. He stumbled back a little, "'Ey! Wha' was that for?!" He demanded.

"I suggest you go home." Jay replied, looking down at the man.

"And I suggest she comes with me." He replied, a goofy, yet sickly grin on his face. Before Jay could respond, the man had pulled a knife and taken a swipe at the Spartan. With a quick jab, the man was doubled over from a strike to his gut before Jay slammed his head against the bar, knocking him out cold.

"I didn't need your help." Miranda muttered into a comm. frequency that the rest of the squad wouldn't over-hear.

"Would've done it for any of the squad." Jay responded with a shrug. There was a slight pause.

"Thanks." Miranda replied quietly. Jay just nodded as they caught up with the rest of the squad, oblivious to what had happened as Miranda and Jay had been at the back.

"Aria's upstairs." One of the Guards they walked past said. John nodded as they climbed a short flight of stairs leading to a balcony overlooking the dance floor below. Once they reached the top, a guard held his arm out and another approached with a scanner. He quickly began scanning all five members of the squad.

"Hey short-stuff, you missed one." Zaeed grunted to the rather squat Batarian as he pulled a knife out of his belt and held it to his chin. Zaeed smirked.

"That's far enough, Commander Shepard."

Shepard pointed past the Batarians shoulder and towards the Asari. "I was told you're the one to talk to if I have any questions."

"They're clean." The Batarian called out.

"Is he stupid?" Jay asked Jacob incredulously from a little lower down on the balcony., knowing how much firepower he had strapped to his back. Jacob just chuckled.

Aria turned around to face Shepard, "Depends on the questions." She replied cryptically.

"You run Omega?" Shepard asked. Aria laughed as she turned back to the dance floor below.

"I _am_ Omega." She announced, throwing her arms out to the sides. She turned back around, smirking at Shepard, "But you need more. They always need more something, and they all come running to me. I'm the boss, CEO, queen - if you're feeling dramatic. It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler, and only one rule." She announced as she sat down comfortably on the couch. "Don't fuck with Aria."

"I like it. Easy to remember." Jay called out from the back, earning a smirk from both the Commander and Aria. Shepard sat down as well while the others watched the guards that surrounded them with weapons.

"If you forget, someone will remind you." Aria warned, pointing to a nearby Batarian. He looked at Jay in particular as he nodded.

"Then I toss your sorry ass out the nearest airlock." He threatened.

"I'd like to see you try four-eyes." Jay warned, his fists clenching slightly.

"I'm looking for Mordin Solus, do you know where I can find him?" Shepard cut in, defusing the situation.

"The Salarian doctor? Last I heard he was helping out plague victims in the quarantine zone. I always liked Mordin. He's as likely to heal you as he is to shoot you." She smiled slightly, the Commander leaned forward slightly.

"What can you tell me about him?" He asked.

"Used to be part of the Salarian Special Tasks Group. He's brilliant and dangerous. Just don't get him talking, he never shuts up." Aria chuckled as she folded her hands and rested them on her thighs. "If you really need to find him, take a shuttle to the quarantine zone. No guarantee they'll let you in, of course."

"What about Archangel?" John asked, Aria smirked.

"Ah, the vigilante. He's currently slaughtering the biggest merc groups here on Omega. Heard they're resorting to hiring anyone trying to take him down. Their recruitment office is down there." She said, hooking a thumb over her shoulder towards the lower level.

"Thanks for the information." Shepard thanked, standing up.

"Yeah, just make sure you don't bring the plague back with you." She warned with a dismissive wave of her hand.

* * *

"I told you to get lost lady. The plague has the whole zone quarantined! Nobody gets in!" The guard practically shouted at a young human woman as they approached the door. The shuttle ride wasn't as long as what any of them had expected. Apparently the zone was quite close-by.

"I'm human, you ass! Humans can't get the plague! Now let me get my stuff before looters get it!" She demanded.

"This thing affects every other race out there! We're not taking chances. Nobody is getting in until the plague has run its course." The guard said with some finality just as the squad walked up to the door.

"There's a Salarian named Mordin Solus in there. We've got to get in there to find him." Shepard spoke up, looking at the Turian guard.

"The doctor? Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the slums a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin's trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck but the area is still locked down. Our orders are to either wait until either the plague or the Blue Suns has killed everyone. Then, we go in and clean up." The Turian shrugged.

"Listen, you're stuck here until this quarantine is over. That could take weeks. What you really need is to get this problem solved now. That's what we do - we solve problems. Let us in, and we'll get this district sorted out." Shepard shrugged, pulling his Avenger rifle from his back. Jay and Zaeed also pulled out their rifles while Jacob pulled out a heavy-duty looking shotgun and Miranda pulled out a pistol.

"You think you can fix this, why not? The quarantine zone is more to keep infected people in, anyway. I'll radio ahead, tell them you're coming." the Turian nodded.

"Wait, you're stopping me but not them? You son of a bitch!" The woman spat.

The guard shrugged and pointed to Shepard, "You don't have a grenade launcher lady. Get lost." The woman turned around and stormed off into the crowds of Omega. Shepard turned to the squad.

"Fortunately, humans are immune to the plague." Miranda noted.

"Damn, and I was really hoping to catch something as a souvenir." Jay replied sarcastically.

"Spend the night at Afterlife and you'll get what you're lookin' for." Zaeed quipped, snickering slightly. Shepard nodded to the squad and walked through the doors.

* * *

"I don't like this, Shepard. It's too quiet and there's too many possible ambush points." Jay warned, leading the group through the dank, abandoned corridors.

"Just keep your head on a swivel, Jay." Shepard replied, checking the left flank while Jacob watched the right and Zaeed watched their back with Miranda in the middle, ready to support anyone.

As the group approached a corner, Jay dropped to a knee and held up a balled first before holding up three fingers and pointed around the corner. As they approached the corner at a more cautious pace, they stacked up, waiting for Jay to give the go-ahead. When he nodded, Jay spun around the corner, his burst-fire weapon already spitting out bullets as two of the Blue Suns were dropped, the third diving for cover, but not before John caught him in the neck, dropping him as well.

"Clear." Jay announced, his rifle still raised, watching their area for any other threats.

"Move up." Shepard ordered, watching as Jay began walking with his rifle raised again. They continued walking through the corridors for another couple of dozen minutes, only bumping into another three Blue Suns mercs, all of whom were quickly dispatched. Eventually they managed to make it to the clinic after following the signs that were posted on the walls of some corridors.

As they slowly made their way down the steps towards the clinic, Jay stopped quickly. "Mechs up ahead. ROE, Shepard?" Jay asked, turning his head slightly over his shoulder.

"Don't fire unless fired upon. We're not here to make enemies." Shepard replied, shaking his head.

"Yes sir." He nodded, lowering his weapon as he continued walking down the stairs.

As they turned the corner, they spotted what appeared to be a welcome desk with a series of mechs and a heavily armed human watching them. They silently walked past them, putting their weapons away as they walked up to the clinics door. As the door opened with a slight scraping, they were met with the sight of countless aliens along with a few humans piled into the waiting room. As the humans scurried around the clinic, tending to various patients, Shepard caught one on the arm and quickly asked, "Where's Mordin Solus?" The woman looked tired and weary of the strangers.

"He's in the back." She replied, shrugging out of the Commanders gentle grip as she went back to tending a female Turian.

"Thanks. Alright, let's go talk to him." Shepard nodded, waving the squad to follow him. As they stepped around in-patients and headed towards the back rooms, they began to hear a Salarians hurried talking. Shepard turned sharply into the room where it was coming from.

"Professor Mordin Solus?" Shepard asked, removing his helmet to show the Salarian his face. He offered him a kind smile. Mordin just walked up to him and scanned him with his Omni-tool.

"Hmm. Don't recognise you from area. Too well-armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect." The Doctor walked over to a terminal and began typing something, still talking to himself. "Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio-weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldier, not scientists." The Salarian began to pace again before Shepard spoke up,

"Relax, Mordin. I'm Commander Shepard, and I came here to find you. I need your help on a critical mission, and I need your help." He said, turning slightly at the sound of Jay's chuckling behind him.

"Mission? What mission? No. Too busy. Clinic understaffed, plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" Mordin asked hastily as he bent down to pick something up.

Shepard sighed as he rubbed his forehead, "Ever hear of an organisation called Cerberus?" he asked.

"Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans. Why request Salarian aid?"

"We're going to hit the Collectors." Jacob spoke up.

Mordin folded him arms and tapped a long finger against his very worn and old - for a Salarian - chin. "Hmm. Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting the slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Goals may be similar." He muttered, loud enough to be heard. Shepard nodded.

"But," Mordin continued, "must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control centre. Vorcha guarding it." He paused as he turned to Shepard. "Need to kill them."

"We'll get in and deal with the Vorcha." Shepard nodded, pulling his helmet back on. As he said that, the vent that was humming quietly in the ceiling stopped working, the room bathed in red warning lights.

"Typical." Zaeed grunted, pulling his heavily modified Avenger from his back, Jay doing the same.

"That sounded troubling." Miranda smirked, looking at Jay as he shrugged.

"You think I did it? I'm hurt Ms. Lawson." He gasped. Mordin just shook his head at their antics as he brought up him Omni-tool.

"Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates. Here, take plague cure. Also, bonus in good faith. Weapon from dead Blue Suns mercs. May come in handy against Vorcha." Mordin replied, passing Shepard a modified Predator pistol and the plague cure. Shepard handed the cure to Jay as he attached the small metal canister to the small of his back.

"One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into Vorcha territory looking for victims. Hasn't returned." Mordin added, looking up at the Commander and the squad.

"If I see him, I'll do what I can to help, Doctor." Shepard nodded, turning around as the squad filed out of the room and back into the corridors.

"_Shepard, I have uploaded a NAV-point where the Environmental Control Centre is located."_ EDI chimed in over their radios.

"Thanks EDI." Shepard replied, motioning for Jay to take point.

* * *

They had been walking for only a few minutes before they began to hear the distinct voices of Vorcha coming from below them.

"Jay, you're up. Scout ahead and tell us what you see." Shepard ordered as the Spartan jogged ahead, pulling out his sniper rifle as he went, blending into the shadows perfectly.

They waited for a few minutes, checking their weapons before the comm. crackled to life. _"Sir, I count three Vorcha on the landing below the balcony we're on. I count another six on thermals around the corner. Two Krogan too."_

"Copy that, we're moving up to your position. Take a shot if you have one." Shepard replied quietly.

"_Sir, be advised, they have flame-throwers. I advise aiming for the tanks or using a Sabotage against them." _Jay added.

"Acknowledged." Shepard replied before hearing the distinct crack of a sniper rifle quickly followed by a loud booming explosion.

"_Three Vorcha down." _Jay chuckled over the comm. Shepard had to hand it to the Spartan, once they arrived on the balcony above where the still burning remains of the three Vorcha were, he couldn't see Jay anywhere.

"As soon as they turn the corner, light them up." Shepard ordered.

"_Incoming." _Jay warned, another crack of his rifle nailing one of the two Krogan through the faceplate of his armor, instantly killing it.

"Damn he's good." Jacob grunted, using his biotics to lift a pair of Vorcha into the line of fire of both Shepard and Zaeed. Miranda jumped up from behind her cover and nailed a Vorcha in it's throat. The Vorcha stumbled forward, gripping at the wound before slouching forward and falling in a heap on the floor. Another crack from Jay nailed another flame-thrower Vorcha as he rounded the corner, taking out another two with it. Shepard stood up from cover as the final Krogan rounded the corner a lot more cautiously. A quick biotic warp from Miranda staggered the charging Krogan. Zaeed quickly put the Krogan down with a burst from his Avenger.

"Jay, regroup." Shepard said into his comm.

"Already have, Commander." Jay said, appearing from the shadows behind him.

"Where were you?" Jacob asked, confused how he'd scored some of the shots he had from there.

"There's a balcony up there." Jay said, pointing to the particular perch he'd used. Jacob nodded slowly.

"Jay, thanks for the heads up. Here on out, you're on scouting duty. If you see a way to make our lives easier, you do it. The quicker we get there, the better." Shepard nodded, patting the Spartan on the shoulder. "You any good at clearing out a path for us to double time it?" He asked. Jay was silent a moment, looking at the Commander.

"On occasion." Came the eventual response. Shepard smirked and hooked a thumb towards the stairs leading to the lower balcony. "Then move it Spartan." Jay nodded and pulled out his Vindicator.

"Yes sir."

* * *

"I knew he was good but… damn." Jacob muttered as they moved through the corridors. He shook his head as he spotted a small Blue Suns squad with broken necks or knife wounds.

"Big guy's like a goddamn killing machine." Zaeed chuckled, admiring the precise nature of the wounds.

"Either way, I wouldn't want to piss him off." Shepard muttered, shaking his head slightly as they moved up.

"_Sir, we've got an issue."_ Jay crackled into the squads ears.

"Talk to me Jay." Shepard replied, shouldering his rifle.

"_Walkway up ahead, two corners away from your position. Vorcha on the far side with missile launchers."_ He informed them, a small grunt followed. _"One moment, switching position to provide support when you come through the door."_

"We'll be at the door in twenty Spartan. I don't plan on getting blown apart today."

"_You have a short sprint to some cover once you exit the doors. From there, move along and take whatever shots you can. I'll cover you."_ The Spartan replied, a slight smirk evident, even over the comm.

"Everyone hear that?" Shepard asked, turning to the squad. When they all nodded, he motioned them to follow him.

"How'd he get through the door?" Jacob asked, slightly puzzled. Zaeed snorted and nodded back at all the corpses the Spartan had left.

"If these idiots didn't see him coming, those Vorcha are as good as dead." He chuckled.

"Jay, we're at the door. Breaching in 3... 2... 1!" He grunted, punching the lock to the door as they sprinted down the walkway. Just as the door opened, a crack of a sniper rang out in the cavernous chamber as the Vorcha with the clearest shot on the door slumped over the handrail before falling over. Its head was missing.

"Oh, shit! Did you see that?" Zaeed barked, chuckling. "Goddamn spectacular." He praised, chuckling still.

"_Switching targets."_ Jay muttered, followed by another shot. _"All the heavies I can spot from this position, sir. Give me thirty and I'll be back with you."_ And with that, the Spartan went silent.

"Move up, but stay in cover!" Shepard ordered. Miranda went first, keeping low as shots pinged off their cover.

"Come on over here!" Jacob called out, pulling a few distracted Vorcha off their feet as they hovered over the chasm. Moments later, their screams echoed through the chamber as they fell to their deaths.

"I count two left, Shepard!" Zaeed called out, ducking back into cover. A shot from Miranda's position quickly followed by her voice, "One now." caused the others to chuckle.

"_Incoming."_ Jay muttered before he dropped down from a position higher up further down the walkway before he reached down behind a corner and picked up the final Vorcha from it's hiding place. The offending Vorcha clawed at the armor and visor of the Spartan but didn't make so much as a scratch. One dismissive toss later and that Vorcha too was falling to his death.

"Damn nice sniping, son. What rifle are you using?" Zaeed asked, walking up and nodding to the Spartan.

"Modified Incisor. Bolt action setting. Modified it before we left the ship." He shrugged. Zaeed nodded appreciatively.

"I use a Viper, myself. Not quite the same impact as yours though, eh?" He chuckled, moving past him. Shepard sighed and motioned the others to follow. Jay received a nod of thanks from both Jacob and Miranda as they walked past him.

"Final stretch people, keep your eyes peeled." Shepard ordered.

"Sir, those Blue Suns you passed? They were harassing a civilian called Daniel. Wasn't that the guy Mordin was on about?" Jay asked, pulling out his Vindicator. Shepard nodded.

"He must've hid after you took care of them. Good work." Shepard praised, watching as the Spartan nodded and moved to keep up with the others.

As they stepped through the final door, a snarl carried across the room. A Vorcha was glaring at them. "You no come here! We shut down machines, break fans!" It snarled, it's razor sharp teeth dripping with saliva. "Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong!"

Jay snorted, "Well, at least we know who's behind this." He grunted as he moved up towards a short flight of stairs leading up to the fan control. As they jogged up the stairs, Shepard asked, "What do the Collectors want?" as he pointed his Avenger at the Vorcha. The Vorcha threw his head back and snarled menacingly.

"Collectors want plague! You work for doctor, turn on machines, put cure in air. We kill you first!" It snarled, reaching for a pistol. The distinctive three round burst from Jay's weapon sounded to Shepards right as the Vorcha jerked back, three rounds cleanly passing through it's skull.

Immediately bullets began flying. Previously hidden Vorcha sprang up from their positions and opened fire. Everyone quickly dropped behind cover as bullets began to pepper their positions. "Shepard, what did you do to piss these people off so much?" Jay asked, leaning out of cover and knee capping an approaching Vorcha.

"Why don't you go and ask them?" He replied with a grin. The Spartan was silent a moment before nodding slowly.

"Good idea, sir. Lawson, you're with me. Get them out in the open!" Jay called out, earning a nod from the woman. Jay burst out of cover immediately, dropping two Vorcha in the process. His rifle swept from target to target, each one either wounding or killing. Suddenly, two Vorcha began flying up into the air, suspended by biotics. Jay quickly nailed them both.

Advancing slowly, but steadily, the squad began to face less and less opposition the closer they got to the terminal. Just as they cleared the last of the Vorcha from the raised platform, the distinctive whine of a missile caught Jacobs attention. "Incoming!" He yelled, the squad dropping to the floor. The missile detonated by Miranda, throwing the shapely Operative through the air a little ways before crashing into the bulkhead. Dazed, but not injured, she slowly got up, and used her biotics to erect a protective barrier around herself.

"Heavy, up top at our six!" Zaeed called out. With a grunt, Shepard stood up and sent a small burst towards the offending Vorcha. As the Vorcha fell over dead, bullets began pinging off of the floor and surrounding area from their flanks.

"Split up! Jay, Zaeed, take the right. Jacob, Miranda you're with me." Shepard ordered sprinting to the left and dodging fire as he went.

"C'mon old man. Keep up." Jay grunted, pushing himself off of the floor, weapon in hand.

"Old man my arse." He grumbled, following the Spartan, who had slid to a halt by a concrete pillar. Jay poked his head around the corner of his cover, as he tried to asses the situation.

"What've we got?" Zaeed asked, flinching back when a chunk of concrete was blasted from the rest of it.

"Flamethrower and about three other standard Vorcha." Jay grunted, ducking back around. Just as he did a giant wall of flame burst past the concrete.

"Hope you have a plan, kid. We're sittin' ducks here." Zaeed grumbled. The Spartan nodded, pulling something from his belt before showing it to Zaeed. "Ha! Bastards won't know what hit 'em!" The merc barked out a laugh. A second later, Jay hooked his hand around the corner and the incoming fire went silent. A few second later, a dull thump reverberated through the chamber. The Spartan swung around the corner, weapon raised.

"Oh shit!" Jay exclaimed, right before he was bull-rushed by a Krogan. Zaeed chuckled slightly at watching the Spartan go flying. Three shots later and the Krogan slumped to the floor, blood trickling out of two holes in its head and one out of its throat.

"Need a hand?" The merc asked, standing over the Spartan as he rested his rifle against his shoulder.

"I'm good." Jay chuckled, pushing himself up. Nodding to Zaeed, they both went back towards the middle where the sounds of gunfire had cut off as well.

"Shepard! You good?" Zaeed called out.

"We're good!" Came the reply, just as the man and his part of the squad turned the corner from where they were. "Let's get this cure distributed, shall we?" He asked, putting his hand out for the canister that Jay was carrying.

"This'll only take a few minutes, then we can get back to Mordin." Miranda stated, beginning work on the Terminal.

"Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done, Shepard. Thank you." Mordin stated as soon as they entered his lab.

"And well done from me as well. I'm not sure what those Blue Suns would have done to me if you hadn't killed them, thank you." A human man chimed in from the other side of the room. He was looking at Jay in particular.

"Happy to help." Jay nodded. Mordin turned to the man who was obviously Daniel.

"Go. Help with patients. Remember what I taught you." Daniel left quickly, smiling at the squad as he walked past. Once he had left, Mordin continued, "Good kid. Bit naïve. He'll learn. Letting him take over clinic. Should be able to handle it now that Vorcha are gone." He smiled, and for the first time Shepard realised one of the Salarians distinctive, fleshy horns was missing the top half.

"We've helped you cure the plague, are you ready to help fight the Collectors?" Shepard asked, offering his hand to shake. The Salarian shook it immediately.

"Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises. Just need to finish up here at the clinic. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it." Mordin nodded.

"Alright, we're heading out, we'll see you on the Normandy Mordin." Shepard nodded back, turning around and motioning for the squad to leave.


	3. Chapter 3

\- CHAPTER 3

"Welcome to the Normandy Professor, it's an honour to have you onboard." Jacob said as the Cerberus soldier and the Salarian walked through the door into the briefing room. The Salarian quickly stepped into the room, gazing at the holographic representation of the _Normandy_ on the briefing table in the centre of the room. Shepard stood at the opposite end of the table with Jay next to him, both out of their combat gear and smiling at the Professors antics.

Mordin looked back at Jacob, "Yes. Very exciting. Cerberus working with aliens. Unexpected. Illusive man branching out, maybe? Not so human-centric?" He babbled, pacing back and forth. Shepard snorted.

"Don't kid yourself, Professor. Humans still come first in the Illusive Man's eyes. But this mission is too big for them to handle alone." Shepard shrugged, smiling kindly at the ageing Salarian.

"The Collectors are abducting human colonists out on the verges of Terminus space." Jacob spoke up, folding his arms across his chest.

"Hmm. Not simple abductions. Wouldn't need me for simple." Mordin mumbled, beginning his pacing again as Jacob continued.

"Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There are no signs of any attack." Jacob informed him, pacing as well, "There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all… except that every man, woman, and child is gone."

"Gas maybe? No. Spreads too slow-" Mordin began before Shepard stopped him, holding a hand up politely.

"You don't have to sit there and guess. We collected samples from one of the colonies. I'd like you to analyse them and figure out how the Collectors did this."

"Yes! Of course. Analyse samples. Going to need a lab." Mordin replied, beginning to turn and walk out of the door just as EDI's voice cut in.

"There is a fully equipped lab on the combat deck, Professor Solus. If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order." She kindly offered. Mordin paused, looking for the source of the voice. Jay chuckled from the back of the room.

"Who's that? Pilot? No. Synthesised voice. Simulated emotional inflections. Could it… no. Maybe. Have to ask. Is that an AI?" Mordin ask, blinking as he looked at Shepard.

"EDI is the _Normandy's_ Artificial Intelligence, yes." Shepard nodded.

"An AI on board? Non-human crewmembers. Cerberus more desperate than I thought."

"The Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever we have to do to find and stop them." Jacob pointed out.

"Yes. Of course. Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify, neutralise technology. Need samples." Mordin paused, looking at Jacob, "Which way to the lab?" Jacob just grinned and led Mordin towards the door.

"I'll show you Professor. I think you'll like it."

Once the door was closed, Jay spoke up, "I'd like to take you up on your offer, Shepard."

The Commander was silent a moment as he tried to remember what his offer had been. After a moment, he smiled and nodded at the taller man. "I was hoping you would. Who did you have in mind for your squad so far then?" He asked, leaning against the terminal as he pulled up the dossiers that the Illusive Man had already sent him. Apparently, more were being put together.

"I figure that my squad would be more for support purposes, correct?" Jay asked, leaning on the table as they both looked at the terminal.

"That's about right, yeah." Shepard nodded slowly. Jay nodded as well before highlighting a few names.

"I figure that if I have Miranda, Mordin, Jack, Zaeed and this Kasumi, my squad would be near enough complete. Though we'd switch up the teams if the situation demanded it of course." Jay suggested. John let out a low whistle as he rubbed his chin.

"You know that's most of the first lot of dossiers, right?" He pointed out.

"I know, but I figure that if I'm running support, you'll want barrier support and scouting. These people so far seem the best skill sets for this. Though, depending on the kind of biotic Jack is, depends on if she'd be better off in your squad or mine. I'll leave that call up to you though." Jay shrugged, pushing off the table lightly. John nodded slowly.

"We'll see how it goes. Need anything else?" He asked. When the Spartan shook his head, John smiled and dismissed him.

* * *

Jay stood outside her quarters quietly, thinking of how to bring the subject across. Shrugging, he pressed the buzzer at the side of her door realising he just needed to do it, rather than over-think it.

"Who is it?" Came the electronic reply.

"Jay. Mind if I come in?" He asked, lowering his head to speak into the microphone.

"One second." Was his only response. After a few seconds of waiting, the lock on the door turned from a red, to a green - signalling him to enter. After waving his hand over the panel, the door opened silently, allowing the Spartan his first glimpse into the life of Miranda Lawson. With a small smile, he realised everything was perfectly how it should be, almost as if it had never been used. He didn't know whether to put it down to an OCD or if that was just how she was. Only time would tell.

"Can I help you, Spartan?" Miranda asked, sat at her desk in front of the door. Jay nodded and stepped into her room, noticing the double bed at the back. A definite improvement on his own.

"You can actually. I came to learn a little bit about you. I like to know who I'm working with." Jay shrugged.

"Oh? No doubt you've got plenty of questions. Cerberus isn't as evil as most people would have you-" She began, though Jay cut her off with a shake of his head.

"I said _you_. Not your organisation." He chuckled, sitting down slowly on a chair on the opposite side of her desk. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him for a moment.

"I guess that's fair." She finally nodded, "Well, you should probably know I've had extensive genetic modification." She stood and began to pace a little, "Not my decision, but I make the most of it. It's one of the reasons the Illusive Man hand-picked me. I'm pretty good at anything I really choose to do." She shrugged, leaning against the bulkhead behind her desk as she looked at the man opposite her.

"You obviously don't lack for confidence." Jay noted, smirking as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.

"It's just a fact. My reflexes, my strength - even my looks were designed to give me an edge. No point in hiding from it." She pointed out, resting a hand on her hip as Jays head snapped up, the smile gone from his face.

"Like me." He mumbled, loud enough for Miranda to hear. She nodded slowly, agreeing with him - albeit reluctantly.

"However, I'm sure that you didn't mind having your modifications." She shrugged, ignoring the slight frown he gave her. "Getting back to what I was saying however-" She tried, though Jay interrupted her.

"You think I chose to be like this?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

"Well, it's the only logical conclusion. No doubt you excelled in the military academy in your scores and you were hand selected to be offered a chance at becoming a Spartan." She concluded, sitting down and folding her hands on her desk. He just chuckled.

"I wasn't given the option." Her eyes narrowed as the words left his mouth.

"Why wouldn't a soldier not be given the option at becoming something more deadly than the N7's?" She asked, confused.

"You're smart, take a guess." He shrugged.

"You've obviously had people assume you signed onto the programme previously. That much is evident. So it wouldn't be any of the obvious answers, of course." She noted, accepting his challenge. She was silent a moment. She leaned back slowly. "You were conscripted?" She asked, half surprised and half proud she'd worked it out. He nodded silently, his posture and face not giving away anything.

"Out of all my years in service, you're the only one to guess right." He grinned. She scoffed at the thought.

"So why were you conscripted? Cerberus hasn't been able to find your service record anywhere. Not even in our highest ranked informants." She asked, curiously. He shook his head, chuckling.

"You tried this last night and I don't plan on another argument. So please, continue with your life story?" He asked politely, deflecting her question. She sighed inwardly but cleared her throat.

"Very well. As I was saying, it's the reason why I'm picked to lead the most dangerous, risky and technically demanding operations Cerberus undertakes. And it's why I was assigned to this ship. This mission needs the best." She shrugged.

"You said you were genetically modified? What level are we talking about? Because, let's face it, you don't look as strong as me." He chuckled, causing Miranda to grin.

"It's all _very_ thorough. Physically I'm superior in many ways." She began, hearing Jay snort with amusement, causing her to smirk, "I heal quickly and I'll likely live again half as long as an average human. My biotics are also very advanced - for a human." She shrugged, watching as Jay seemed to nod to himself for a moment. "Add to that some of the best training and education money can buy and well, it's pretty impressive really." She added quickly.

"So you're perfect then." Jay grinned, cheekily. Miranda felt her cheeks blush slightly at the comment.

"Maybe, but I'm not. I'm still human and I make mistakes. And when I do, the consequences are severe. Everyone expects a lot from someone with my… abilities." She replied, looking down at the table for a moment.

"Maybe, maybe not. Everyone makes mistakes. Hell, even Spartans make mistakes. I made one on Elysium and now I'm the last one alive." He shrugged, "Mistakes are what define us and what makes us grow as a species. If you fuck up during a mad-scientist experiment, sure you made a mistake and cost Cerberus a few million, but as long as nobody dies it's okay." He said as she looked up. She had expected him to tease her, but not to sit there and smile at her.

"My mistakes are all I can take credit for." She pointed out.

"Why? Because of your modifications? Bullshit. Modifications or not, what you do with the faculties you have is up to you. Mistakes or successes. Take credit for both." He nodded, leaning forwards and resting his arms on her desk. She smiled at him.

He snapped his fingers as if he'd remembered something. "I believe I owe you something actually…" He muttered, reaching behind his back. She sat there confused for a moment before he pulled out a very distinguishable helmet.

She'd won the bet?

Miranda sat there, confused for a few moments as she stared blankly at the piece of the Spartans armor. "But… I didn't - I mean I -" She tried, her mouth opening and closing once or twice as she tried to think of what to say.

"I know you didn't talk to any of the crew yesterday. But you loosened up when we were on Omega. Also, you had my back at the control centre, so I figure this is my way of saying thanks." He shrugged, placing the helmet carefully on her desk. "I expect it in working order for the morning you know. We still have another dossier for Omega." He pointed out with a smirk.

"I-" She tried again before pausing. "Thank you." She said quietly, nodding. Now that she thought about it, Jay had been sat rather far forward in his seat. How had she not seen it when he walked in?

"Admittedly, I _maybe_ brought it along for another reason." He muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. She looked at him pointedly.

"Shepard gave me my own command while I'm under him. I'll be leading supporting fire team." He was silent a moment. "You're in my squad." He finished quickly, wincing, watching as her eyes widened and then narrowed dangerously.

"Why would Shepard give command of a fire team to you? Why not to his XO… or someone equally qualified?" She demanded, her hands still placed and the helmet.

"Maybe because I've been doing this kind of this for a good few years?" He responded, noting her little slip.

"But -" She began, before calming herself. "Very well, tomorrow I'll report to you on the ground." She growled, drumming her fingers on the helmet.

"In full combat armor." He quickly added. Her fingers paused.

"In full-" She began again, before calming herself - _a repeat occurrence around this particular man_, she noted. "And just what is wrong with what I wore today?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She noticed how he seemed to almost pale slightly.

"Well, uh, nothing-" He began, pausing a moment to clear his throat, "But it doesn't look like it'd be any good at stopping bullets. So I got Jacob to put a set aside for you. He said he knew your size." He shrugged. Miranda sat there, barely able to contain her shock at the man in front of her.

Clearing his throat quietly, Jay slowly stood up and pointed to the door in the silence, "I'll uh, I'll be downstairs if you, uh, need me." He muttered, practically running to the door.

Once the door was shut, Miranda sat back in her chair and held the empty helmet in her hands up to her face, noticing her reflection in the visor. She smiled to herself.

* * *

As Jay stepped into his quarters, EDI's voice chimed in from a terminal that had been placed for her to contact him from.

"Gunnery Chief zero-four-nine, I noticed something while on the _extranet_ that may interest you." She said politely, her holographic form springing to life. Jay raised an eyebrow at the projection.

"What did you find?" he asked, sitting himself down at his desk. "And please, just Jay will do." He added, smiling.

"Very well, Jay. Over the last two years, a number of missing children forms were filled out throughout Alliance space." She began, "Though I noted that there was a remarkably high number of children classed as 'gifted' missing than in previous years. I compared their medical files and it seems they all posses something in common with you." She paused as Jay held his head in his hands, knowing what was coming next. "They all share a genetic marker that is present in your DNA that's on file after you submitted a blood sample to Doctor Chakwas this morning." She finished.

Jay groaned as he rested his head on the desk. Someone was playing God again. He sighed, looking back at the hologram, "EDI, have you informed Commander Shepard of this?" He asked.

"I have not." She replied immediately.

"Alright. Figure it'd be better coming from me. Where is he?" He asked, standing up.

"Commander Shepard can currently be found in his cabin" She informed him.

"Thanks EDI, let them know I'm coming up."

"Logging you out… Jay."

* * *

"Commander." Jay called out the moment the door to Shepards cabin opened, watching as Shepard turned to look at him.

"Jay? What can I help you with?" Shepard asked.

"Shepard, I've never once asked a CO for anything. Ever." Jay began, feeling his breath coming in short and sharp bursts. "But I can't do this without your help, sir. Is the room secure?" He asked, watching as Shepard paused, a frown on his face. He let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding when Shepard nodded.

"Someone's trying to restart the Spartan Programme."

There was silence in the room for a few moments as both men were staring at each other.

"Why would you be against that? I thought you said you were the last one?" Shepard asked, looking confused. Jay began pacing.

"You don't get it, sir. I'd love to not be the last one, but…" He trailed off. The Spartan only stopped his pacing when Shepard gently placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, directing him over to a sturdy looking stool.

"Why don't you take a breath and tell me all about it." Shepard suggested, sitting down opposite him. Jay nodded slowly.

"What I'm about to disclose is _beyond_ Top Secret. You got that?" Jay asked, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he looked at the man. Shepard nodded instantly. "Okay," Jay sighed, "Spartans aren't hand-picked from military academies with excelling cadets. We're… conscripted, I guess is the right word." He began, noticing the shock on Shepards face.

"The Alliance figured that the N7's would turn out to be the best un-augmented soldier they could get out of a grown adult. There's a reason I don't know my own age." Jay admitted, looking at Shepard as the sentence settled in.

"You were conscripted as a kid?" He asked, incredulously. Jay nodded slowly.

"Children's minds are 'more accepting of indoctrination' and our bodies are 'more adaptable to augmentation' as the lead scientist put it, when I was still in training." Jay pointed out, "It gave us an edge in combat though, I won't dispute that. Immediately we were taught strategy and combat. It's all we know. We were taught that for the betterment of humanity, we'd need to sacrifice ourselves. We were to be the Alliances sword, and it's shield." He continued, shifting in his seat slightly, "There were 120 candidates when we were conscripted. 120 candidates made it to the Augmentation stage when we were teenagers."

"From the reports though, there weren't that many Spartans on Elysium, unless some were already deployed elsewhere?" Shepard asked. Jay grimaced and ran a hand through his hair before continuing.

"Only 34 candidates walked away from the augmentations." Jay muttered, letting the death-toll sink in.

"Just… damn." Shepard swore under his breath.

"And the Alliance did this?" Shepard asked, shocked. Jay just nodded numbly.

"Well over half of the Spartans were either dead, comatose or their bodies were so warped by the procedures that some didn't even look human anymore." Jay admitted, shaking his head. "I remember this one Spartan, damn good at hand to hand combat, called Fajhad. He was left completely paralysed. Right before Elysium, I heard he was the best code-breaker in the AIB."

Jay paused for a moment, as he just stared at the table. "I remember all the Spartans. Though we all specialised in something, we were all just as deadly as each other. The ones of us that were left stuck together. If we were stationed on a ship, we'd be sat down in the cargo hold away from the rest of the crew. It all fell apart at Elysium." Jay sighed, shaking his head.

"Our ship was stationed on the far side of the system when news of the attack came in. We were trained on Elysium, in the mountains. I made the call that we go and defend the planet. We picked up our guns, took a few dropships and left the ship." Jay finished, shrugging.

"So what do you need my help with then? You want us to go to Elysium and put a stop to it?" Shepard asked. When no reply came from the Spartan, John continued, "Jay, I'd love to, but I can't take the ship and assault an Alliance base." He apologised.

"Then don't send the ship. Send me." Jay asked, looking up at the Commander.

"What? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" John demanded.

"No. A Spartan could land on the planet in a shuttle, successfully infiltrate the facility, halt any attempt to make more Spartans and evac all inside of a week. No casualties - for us." Jay added with a grin.

"What about the kids though? How're you going to get them out?" John asked, massaging his forehead.

"There's multiple escape tunnels built into the complex. I know them all. I'll make sure the kids are out before I blow the base into Batarian territory." He chuckled, getting a grin from Shepard.

"I'm not comfortable sending you off on your own, Jay." Shepard deadpanned.

"But sir-" Jay started, though Shepard stopped him with a raised hand.

"So I'll send Miranda with you." He finished, seeing the shocked expression on Jay's face.

"I-but-" Jay tried, but when no words would come, he just sighed and nodded. "Yes sir."

"Good." Shepard nodded, patting the Spartan on the shoulder. "You leave right after we pick up Archangel. While you're planet-side, we'll swing around and pick up Jack and Okeer."

"Thank you, Shepard. You have no idea how much this means to me." Jay thanked, standing up and shaking his CO's hand.

* * *

Hello everybody!

Invieri here! I've had one or two private messages and I've just noticed a review asking the same thing - so I'm going to address the issue.

People are asking me to change the character of Jay - a character of my own creation in a universe where I have altered certain events and aspects of both originals. I would like to state for the record, **JAY IS IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM THE MASTER CHIEF**. He is no John-117. He is Jay-049 and as a result, has his own personality and traits - along with both strengths and weaknesses.

Now, Jay's character is a tricky one for me to write (back when I started writing this, well over a year ago now) and I found it particularly difficult to mix his sarcastic wit, curiosity about the people around him, desire to protect Humanity and regret all into one person. Yes, he speaks more than any Spartan from the Halo Universe, but this is Fanfiction, correct? Also, please understand that he was trained and grew up in a different environment from Halo. Here, there is no insurrection - only the lingering threat of the Batarians.

Jay understands that for his team to work together in the most effective way - and to defeat the Collectors, there is give and take. He may be talking more than he's used to with Shepards companions, but he needs to know the people around him and be able to trust them to watch his six. Unit cohesion is key in what I've written for this and I hope that's coming across as I hoped it would.

Now, while I've had these requests, I will say this here and now for the record. I will not be changing Jay's character or his actions to satisfy one or two readers. This is my story, and though it may sound selfish, I wrote this primarily for myself. Granted, I hope I've stayed true to the characters (tried to make Shepard seem like more of a human with emotions rather than some pre-written character in a video game I had trouble relating to).

There will be aspects of Jay's character that come to light in the next few chapters that may provide some more in depth views into him as a person, rather than a soldier and I genuinely hope that you all enjoy it. I really do.

I would just like to take a moment to thank everyone who's put aside the time to read my chapters, and I'm amazed at how many hits the first chapter has brought already (just shy of 1000 unique hits according to my traffic manager!) and I'd like to personally thank everyone who's sent me a message and (as it stands currently), the two people that have reviewed - not to mention the people who have followed and favourited the story! It means so much, and I hope I can make life-long fans out of any who enjoy my work. I'm humbled, I truly am!

While I am thankful for the feedback, and it is nice to hear from the fans, I'd like to share a quote that I feel best defines the point I'm trying to get across about this story; 'Art is not a democracy.' You can thank the brilliant George R. R. Martin for that.

If an issue arises that I feel I need to address, then I'll place it at the bottom of the chapter that I upload when the issue arises.

Take care guys!


	4. Chapter 4

\- CHAPTER 4

"We've got all the time in the world. Archangel? Not so much." Jay noted, as the squad watched him equip his armor down in the cargo bay. Miranda had been down there first, though that was more to give him back his helmet than anything else. Shepard chuckled as the Spartan stepped onto the slightly raised platform, placing his feet into what appeared to be the soles of his boots, before the armor plates clamped down on Jay's under-suit.

"What do we know about him?" Jacob asked, glancing at the Commander briefly. Jay grabbed onto two hand-holds as a metal halo with various machine appendages raised up from the deck. After a few seconds, the Spartan was tilted back as the machines bolted his chest piece on.

"We know he's pissed off Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack bosses on Omega. They're all gunning for him. EDI was kind enough to find that out for us. We also know that all three groups are hiring anyone with a gun to take him down." Shepard nodded.

"There's our ticket in." Miranda agreed, nodding as the machines finished attaching his leg armor. Slowly, the Spartan was raised back to a vertical position as a pair of appendages slowly lowered the Spartans helmet over his head. The classic pop of a suit sealing itself was deafening in the silence. Immediately, the suits various lights sprang to life as Jay stepped off the machine.

"Let's go bag us a vigilante, shall we?" He asked, picking up his Incisor and his Vindicator.

"Damn that was impressive." Zaeed muttered, looking up at the armored Spartan. A slight chuckle resonating out from the suit.

"Alright people, gear up. Miranda, Jacob, get your armor on." Shepard nodded, already in his N7 armor.

"Yes, sir." Jacob replied, jogging towards the elevator. Miranda followed slowly.

"Miranda, glad to know I put my trust in the right place." Jay called out as she stepped past him. She nodded once she entered the elevator. He nodded back just as the doors finished closing.

* * *

"At least I won't feel like I need a shower after standard decontamination this time." Miranda muttered into her helmet as they walked out of the airlock.

"I still can't get the stink out of my gear from yesterday." Jacob grumbled, walking a little further in front.

"Please. This is the heart of the Terminus!" Zaeed announced, throwing his hands up in the air, "This is what _real_ living smells like." He finished, looking pointedly at Miranda. Jay snorted.

"Alright people, we go in. Pose as a group of mercs and evac Archangel." Shepard cut in from the front. As he looked over his shoulder, he saw their nods. "Okay. We split in half for this. Jay, you're on support today. You'll have Miranda with you. Jacob, Zaeed, you're with me."

"Commander, I can be just as effective in your squad." Miranda pointed out, almost pleadingly. John shook his head.

"No. We've got Jacob's biotics. We'll need you to provide cover for us as we move up. You're on support, Lawson." Shepard replied, the tone of his voice leaving no room for discussion.

"Yes, Commander." She sighed. Jay patted her on the shoulder lightly.

"There, there." He chuckled quietly. A pulse of her biotics later, and his hand was removed quickly. "You're so easy to piss off." He muttered, stepping past her, "Almost makes it no fun. Almost."

A few minutes later and they were walking through Afterlife, towards where Aria had pointed to the day before. A pair of heavily armed Blue Suns mercs stared at them as they approached. One of them stepped forward as Shepard stepped up to him.

"I hear you're recruiting."

The Batarian just grunted and pointed to the door, "Hmm, why don't you step inside?" He suggested, baring his teeth at the Commander. To Shepards credit, he didn't flinch. As the squad walked through the door at the bottom of the ramp that the merc had pointed to, a Batarian behind the terminal was talking to a group of three freelancers - all in mid to low range gear.

"You'll get paid when the job's done, just like everyone else. Who's next?" He asked, watching as the freelancers left. Shepard stepped up. The Batarian chuckled and pointed to the group, "You five look like you could do some damage. Looking for a good fight?" He asked.

Shepard nodded, his helmet hiding his face, "Sure. If this is the place to go after Archangel."

"This is the place." The merc nodded, before he began typing into his terminal. "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You get paid when the job's done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share. You'll need your own weapons and armor…" He paused, looking at Jay in particular, "Looks like you've got that covered. And no, this does not make you a member of the Blue Suns, Eclipse or Blood Pack. You're a freelancer. Period." The merc finished.

Shepard nodded, "Where do we go?" He asked.

"Just head over to the transport depot outside the club. One of our boys will take you from there."

"Appreciate it." John said, turning around. Just as they were about to leave, a young looking human walked through the door.

"Next." The Batarian called out from behind them.

"Hey, is this where I sign up?" He asked, looking around. Shepard stopped in his tracks, turning to face the kid.

"You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc." He pointed out. The kid spun on his heel, glaring at the group.

"I'm old enough. I grew up on Omega. I know how to use a gun!" He defended.

"So does Archangel." Jacob pointed out, his white and black armor reflecting the neon lights of the club.

"I can handle myself." The kid shrugged, reaching down and pulling out a poor looking pistol. "Besides, I just spent 50 credits on this and I-" The kid began, though Shepard quickly yanked the gun from his hand before aiming it at the door and pulling the trigger. It instantly jammed. He handed it back to the kid.

"Get your money back. Trust me kid, you'll thank me later." He said, handing the weapon back. With a nod to the rest of the squad, they left the stunned kid standing there as they headed towards the exit.

"Kid would've gotten himself killed." Jay sighed as they walked through the mass of bodies.

"Kids shouldn't have to think they need to prove themselves." Shepard shrugged, opening the door out of the club.

"I'd have hated to have seen him killed." Jay nodded in agreement.

"It's the little things in life." Shepard agreed.

* * *

"It's about time they sent someone who looks like they can actually fight." A Batarian called out as their skycars landed at the staging area. Once everyone was out, the two drivers that had driven the squad over took off. Back to the club, presumably. Shepard nodded at the Batarian. "They tell you what we're up against?" He asked, looking between the group. Collectively they shook their heads.

"Your man was a little close-lipped about it all, four eyes." Zaeed grunted. The Batarian shrugged.

"We wouldn't get many hires if everyone knew the truth. Archangels holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there." He said, pointing down the street. "He's got a superior position, and the only way to him is over a very exposed bridge. It's a killing field." He sighed, rubbing his chin. "But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll get him soon enough."

"You boys have a plan?" Miranda asked, resting a hand on her hip.

"A small team is waiting to infiltrate his hideout, but we need to draw his fire so they can move in. That's where you come in. You'll be on the distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Archangel busy so we can sneak around behind him." The Batarian shrugged, looking the team over. "Don't think he's got enough firepower to take your friend out, though." He chuckled, pointing to Jay casually. Jay just grunted.

"Sounds like a suicide mission to me." Jacob shrugged, looking at the Commander.

"Pretty much, but you look like you can handle it. Get up to the third barricade and talk to Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to go in." He nodded, turning around and jogging down a side street. No doubt to grab his weapons.

"Sounds fun." Jay drawled out.

"Let's go talk to this Cathka." John started, though when the sound of a Sniper echoed down the street and the death rattle of a Vorcha followed, he paused. "Keep to cover." He added quietly.

"_Shepard, I have scanned the area, but I am unable to plot any other paths to Archangel."_ EDI chimed in over their headsets as they moved down the street.

"Looks like we're with the mercs then." Zaeed shrugged.

"_The heavy mechs and gunship's possess considerable firepower. Weakening them before leaving would greatly increase your odds of successful extraction." _EDI noted.

"Will do, thanks EDI." John nodded, turning his head to look at the team. "Jay, Miranda and Zaeed. You're on sabotage duty. Me and Jacob will find out as much about Archangel as possible." Jacob and Shepard nodded before leaving.

"Zaeed, you used to be a merc. Where would they likely keep their gear?" Jay asked, turning to the older man. The older man simply raised his left eyebrow before sighing. He pointed with his head a little further down the street.

"Probably down there somewhere. Just off the street, away from the barricades." He noted. Jay nodded slowly.

"That's where we're headed then. I'll take point. Stay in cover as much as possible." The Spartan ordered. Miranda and Zaeed nodded silently.

Barricades were set up all the way down the street, with guards posted on all of them from varying merc bands, though Vorcha seemed to make up the majority. As the small team weaved in and out of the emplacements, one or two Vorcha would be taken out from precise sniper shots.

"This guy's good." Jay muttered, ducking as a round passed close to his head.

"Bloody understatement." Zaeed grunted, sliding behind cover, Miranda quickly joining him.

"How much further?" She asked, looking at the older man.

"I'd have put it at the next barricade!" Zaeed called out over the sounds of the Vorcha returning fire. Immediately Jay was up and running around the barricade, Zaeed and Miranda close behind. A short sprint later down the blood stained street and they found themselves at a locked door, just off of the main road.

"Huh. You were right." Miranda muttered, getting to work on the lock with her Omni-tool. A few seconds later, she waved her hand over the lock and stepped through.

Jay paused upon entering the room. "I'm in love." He muttered, glancing around at the weapons stacked around the room. Zaeed snorted.

"May as well take your pick, kid." He shrugged, picking up a few mod's for a Viper sniper rifle. Miranda was browsing the sub-machine guns. Slowly, Jay approached the area that seemed to be devoted to snipers.

"Damn, there's some nice rifles here." He muttered, picking up a Black Widow before reverently putting it back in place. He sighed audibly before turning around and grabbing a handful of thermal clips and a few grenades. With a groan, he spoke up, "Alright, let's see what we can do to sabotage these. Miranda, you're up. I'll go check this room." He nodded as she got to work, before turning around and stepping through the door behind him. He glanced around, before realising he was in what would have been a hallway. As he shuffled along, he spotted a dozen or so mechs along the walls, all deactivated with a single, large heavy mech at the end of the room. As he shuffled around it, he carefully climbed up it's back, looking at the vulnerable wires at it's neck.

"Hmm. This looks important." He noted, pulling the wires out before discarding them behind him. Once he'd lowered himself back down to the ground, he made his way back towards the other two, who were stood waiting for him. Miranda looked more than a little impatient.

"Are you ready to meet up with Shepard?" She asked.

He nodded, pulling his Vindicator from his back, "Let's go."

* * *

When Jay and the others finally reached Shepard, he was already in conversation with the Sergeant. Jay approached them from behind silently. It appeared as if Cathka was nothing more than a mechanic and had been working on the gunship before Shepard had approached him.

"-is about to give us the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him." Cathka chuckled, folding his arms over his chest as he walked over and picked up a lighter and a cigarette. He made a show of lighting it before blowing the smoke in Shepards face. The Commander grimaced and waved the cloud of smoke from his face.

"Are you leading the assault?" He asked, narrowing his eyes slightly at the Batarian.

"Ha! Tarak doesn't pay me to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship." Cathka chuckled, taking another drag. "You freelancers get the privilege of-" He began before his Omni-tool flickered to life, a voice speaking up.

"_Target in sight!"_ Cathka immediately threw away his cigarette and spoke into his radio.

"Check. Bravo team - go, go, go!" He ordered as Freelancers began jumping over the barricade, a few getting put down instantly. Cathka turned to Shepard and grinned menacingly, "Archangels got quite a surprise waiting for him. But that means no more waiting for me." He shrugged, pressing a button on the side of his helmet as his visor polarised as he went back to working on the gunship.

Before Shepard could do anything, Zaeed grabbed a power-tool and pressed it against the base of Cathka's neck armor and activated it. Within seconds, the merc was dead. When Zaeed caught Shepards glare, he shrugged, "Now the gunship won't work. That's what you wanted, right?" He asked, smirking. Shepard shook his head before heading back towards the barricade.

A few seconds later, they stood watching as men and women began the march over the bridge.

"Doesn't look like Archangel's got much time." Jacob noted, pulling his shotgun from his back.

"Well, let's not wait around too long." Miranda smirked, pulling her pistol out. Jay looked at her and nodded. Shepard started walking forward, pulling out his new Mattock as he went.

"Come on. We'll give these guys a surprise of our own." Shepard smirked. The squad followed him silently before hopping over the barricade.

"It's a goddamn killing field!" Zaeed grunted, leaping into cover next to Shepard.

"No shit!" He shouted over the sound of gunfire. "Jay, Miranda, we need covering fire." He ordered into his comm.

"_Give me a second. We're in the middle of something, Shepard. Miranda, kindly tell that merc to go home?" _came Jay's response. The tell-tale sound of biotics behind them, followed by a woman's screams as she fell to her death quickly followed. Suddenly, Shepard saw Jay and Miranda walking up the middle of the bridge - Miranda positioned behind Jay with her hands producing a biotic shield. Jay was unloading on the mercs up ahead.

"_Shepard, move up!"_ Jay shouted, nailing a merc hiding by the door.

"Move up!" Shepard shouted to Jacob across the other side of the bridge, who nodded and shot a few shells at some stragglers. Eventually they all made it to the door.

"Okay people, stack up. Spartan, you're up first. Breach and clear." Shepard ordered. Jay nodded before getting in position.

"Grenade out." Jay muttered, pulling an inferno grenade from his belt before activating it and opening the door. With a small grunt, the Spartan tossed it into the room where a few surprised cries called out before a wall of flame erupted from the still open door.

"Go, go, go!" Shepard ordered, watching as Jay spun into the room, quickly followed by the Commander. Once the all-clear was given, the rest of the squad joined them, weapons checking all corners.

"Nice." Zaeed drawled out, looking at the scorched remains of the Freelancers. Before anyone could say anything, Jay held up a closed fist. The squad was silent.

"Five contacts. Landing above us." He muttered, silently making his way to the stairs, his rifle trained on the landing.

"As soon as we see them, light them up." Shepard ordered, receiving nods from the team. Jay waited for the squad to get into position before firing. The five mercs never knew what hit them. Slowly, the squad approached the locked door.

"Miranda, scan for any traps and then open the door." John ordered. Miranda nodded while Jay kept an eye on the landing below. After a few moments, Miranda reported the all clear and unlocked the door.

Shepard and the team stepped into the room, weapons raised as Archangel silently looked over at them from his perch on the balcony.

"Archangel?" Shepard asked. Archangel was silent. He silently raised a Turian finger at them before peering back into the scope. A moment later, he let off a shot. Before standing up with the aid of his sniper. His fatigue was obvious. Slowly, the vigilante walked over to a table, taking his helmet off unceremoniously before sitting down, propping one of his legs up on the opposite table. John grinned like a child.

"Shepard. I thought you were dead." Garrus chuckled, looking at the human.

"Garrus! What are you doing here?" Asked Shepard happily, laughing from pure delight. The Turian snorted.

"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice."

"You okay?" John asked, frowning slightly.

"Been better, but sure is good to see a friendly face." Garrus nodded, his mandibles shifting slightly into a Turian smile. "Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own." Garrus sighed tiredly. Shepard stepped closer to him while the others kept their rifles raised, but on the lookout for another potential attack. Jay was already hunkering down on the balcony with his sniper.

"What are you doing here on Omega?" Shepard asked, sitting down next to his friend.

"I got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. Figured I could do more good on my own." Garrus shrugged, "At least it's not difficult to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot." He grinned.

"How'd you manage to piss off every major merc group in the Terminus Systems?" Jay asked from the balcony before taking a shot. Garrus snorted, looking over at the Spartan.

"It wasn't easy." He replied dryly, "I _really_ had to work at it." He chuckled. "I am amazed they teamed up to fight me though. They must really hate me."

"What's with the name, anyways?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow as he removed his helmet. Garrus barked out a humourless laugh.

"Just something the locals decided to call me. For all my good deeds. I don't mind it, but please… it's just 'Garrus' to you." He chuckled as he cleared his throat, looking at Shepard.

"Oi, big blue!" Zaeed called out from the doorway, "You know you're not supposed to shoot the ones getting shot at by the mercs as well, right?" causing Garrus to smirk.

"Concussive rounds only. No harm done. Didn't want the mercs getting suspicious."

"I call bullshit!" Jay called out, nailing another merc with his sniper. Garrus chuckled as John stood back up.

"Besides, you were taking your time. I needed to get you moving." He grinned, standing up as well.

"Well, we're here. Let's focus on getting you out of here." Shepard nodded, sealing his helmet again. Garrus nodded.

"Sir? Yeah, not happening at the moment." Jay called out, ducking as rounds peppered the building for a few seconds. Immediately he looked back down his scope and let a round loose.

"He's got a point, Shepard. That bridge has saved my life… funnelling all those witless idiots into scope. But, it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try and go out that way." Garrus added, shaking his head slightly.

"So we just wait here and wait for them to take us out?" Miranda asked incredulously.

"It's not all that bad." Garrus pointed out, "This place has held them off so far, and with the five of you…" He paused, looking at Shepard. "I suggest we hold out, wait for a crack in their defences and take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan." Garrus suggested, looking at Shepard who nodded and patted his shoulder.

"If we fight as a team, we can hold them off. I'll take Jacob and Zaeed and secure the lower level. Jay over there is one of the best snipers I've had the pleasure of working with. Miranda's a pretty good shot too." Shepard suggested, pointing to the two members of his team.

Garrus nodded, "You're right. Their numbers won't help them much in here anyway." He raised his rifle, looking down the scope. "Let's see what they're up to…" He was silent for a few seconds. "Looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look, scouts. Eclipse, I think." Garrus offered, handing his rifle to Shepard. Shepard looked down the scope for a second before pulling the trigger, blasting a mechs head clean off.

"Hey, that was mine!" Jay called out. Shepard smirked and handed the rifle back to Garrus.

"Fair game if you didn't call it." He smirked, hearing Garrus chuckle next to him.

"We'd better get ready, Shepard." Garrus suggested, taking a position next to Jay on the balcony.

"Miranda, can you use a rifle?" Jay asked, looking over his shoulder briefly as Shepard, Jacob and Zaeed jogged out of the room.

"Not as well as the two of you." Miranda pointed out, picking up a Viper from the couch and taking position on the balcony too.

"Let's give these bastard everything we've got." Garrus suggested, firing off a series of shots from his Viper.

"Oo-rah." Jay muttered, firing on an Eclipse merc.

"Heavy mech incoming!" Miranda called out. "Why didn't we see this when we were sabotaging them?" She asked.

"I did. Pulled out some important looking wires from it's neck." Jay snickered, causing Garrus to chuckle.

"This'll be interesting then…" He snorted, watching through his scope as the mech began firing on the mercs. It even went so far as to curb-stomp those too wounded to do more than crawl away. After a few minutes of firing, the mech had decimated the Eclipse forces.

"Huh. Looks like Jaroth was down there." Garrus noted once the mech fell over - it's armor practically destroyed from the Eclipse members that had tried to defend themselves.

"Who's he?" Miranda asked, shouldering her rifle as they took a few moments to collect themselves. Shepard walked in through the door behind them.

"The salarian that ran Eclipse here on Omega. He was responsible for most of the tainted eezo shipments coming out of the Terminus." came Garrus' quick response. "Been after that bastard for months." He shrugged, before turning to Shepard.

"You okay Garrus?" He asked. The Turian nodded.

"We're kicking ass Shepard." He chuckled as he stood up.

"We've still got Blue Suns and Blood Pack left, Shepard." Miranda pointed out.

"Think we can make a break for it yet?" Shepard asked, looking between the three. Jay shook his head silently.

"Let's see what they're up to…" Garrus muttered.

"They've reinforced the far side of the bridge, Shepard. Heavily." Jay pointed out.

Garrus nodded, tapping his chin, "They're not coming over the bridge yet, so what are they waiting for?" he wondered aloud. Moments later, the building shook with an explosion.

"_Shepard, cod piece here thinks they're going for the lower levels."_ Zaeed called out on the radio.

"Alright Zaeed, I'll meet you down there." He responded calmly.

"_Better make it snappy Shepard, there could be a bit of a problem if you don't."_ he grunted, the sound of Zaeed and Jacob in a fire fight spurring the Commander into action.

"So… we'll just stay up here then?" Jay asked rhetorically.

* * *

"Shepard, if you could get your superior ass up here soon, it'd be much appreciated." Jay called out on the radio, grunting as he sniped a charging Krogan.

"_What was that, Gunnery Chief?"_ Shepard chuckled into the comm.

"Sorry. I meant to say, 'superior asshole." Jay drawled, ducking as some fire was directed at him.

"_Superior asshole…?"_ Shepard chuckled, causing the Spartan to smirk.

"Superior asshole, sir!" He laughed into his helmet. He looked over at Miranda and saw that she'd removed her helmet, due to a cracked visor. He watched her peer into the scope, the corners of her eyes creasing slightly in concentration before letting off a shot of her own. She looked at him and grinned, having heard the conversation with Shepard that Jay was having. Even Garrus was chuckling.

"You've definitely relaxed since coming on board." Miranda noted, peering into her scope again as she brushed some of her hair off of her sweaty face.

"Oh, you know. Heat of the moment. Imminent death. Changes a man." Jay joked, causing her to snort in amusement.

"I'll never understand humans…" Garrus muttered, smirking.

"Oh sure you will-" Jay began before he spotted a particularly large Krogan step onto the bridge.

"Is that a Krogan on steroids?" Miranda demanded, looking at Jay and Garrus shocked. Garrus immediately called Shepard.

"Shepard, get back here. They're coming in through the main door." He called out, a sense of urgency in his voice. Suddenly a voice could be heard from the floor below.

"Gahh! Rip them to shreds!" came the unmistakable voice of a Krogan.

"Who's your friend, Garrus?" Jay asked, switching to his Vindicator.

"The Krogan's called Garm. Watch out, I've never seen a Krogan regen' as quick as he does." Garrus warned, also switching to a Vindicator which had been on the couch behind them. Miranda pulled out her pistol.

"Noted. Garrus, you and Miranda focus on the Vorcha with him. Garm's mine." Jay grinned beneath his helmet as he made a point of popping his neck. Sliding his rifle onto his back, he stepped up to the balcony over-looking the landing below. After a few seconds he hopped over the ledge.

"He's mad… nobody can go toe-to-toe with a Krogan in hand-to-hand." Garrus muttered, glancing at Miranda.

"Well, I guess we're about to find out just how much a Spartan compares to one then." She sighed, dropping a pair of flamethrower wielding Vorcha who were approaching their position.

Jay landed with a crunch on the floor below. It wasn't just the expected crunch of the concrete beneath his feet, but also of a pair of Vorcha he'd landed on. He looked up quickly as a Vorcha charged him. With a quick jab from his left fist, the Vorcha was knocked to the ground. Jay approached slowly, kneeling down and quickly breaking it's neck. A telltale roar behind him drew his attention over his shoulder as he spotted Garm aiming his shotgun at him. Quickly rolling to the left, Jay watched as his shields flared momentarily. The area he'd been kneeling in was little more than a crater now. Jay stood up slowly, watching the growling Krogan. Bending his knees slightly, he grinned beneath his helmet.

"Come one pretty boy." Jay taunted. He sighed, preparing himself for the charging behemoth of a Krogan when he got his desired response. A few seconds later, the two impacted and a startled gasp from above made him smirk. Jay was pushed back a few meters before he came to a screeching halt. He looked up briefly and spotted Miranda and Garrus looking on from above, unable to get a clear shot. With a cheeky half salute, Jay nodded up to them.

Garrus and Miranda stared blankly at the fight on the lower floor. Garrus was gob-smacked that the humans spine wasn't snapped from the impact, whereas Miranda was more shocked he had the audacity to salute them.

"Gahh!" Garm growled as he threw a punch that connected with Jay's helmet. Jay stepped back a step, noticing Shepard, Jacob and Zaeed came charging into the room. Jay slowly looked back at Garm.

"My turn." He grunted, throwing a right hook that smashed the Krogan's faceplate of his armor. Before the Krogan could recover, the Spartan threw his arms around the merc and bent back, smashing the Krogan into the floor. Not wasting a second, Jay rolled on top of Garm as he growled, raising a fist and smashing it into the Krogan's face, the impact creating an audible snap as the aliens neck snapped.

As Jay stood up, the room was silent until Zaeed chuckled, "Kid, that was the most badass thing I've seen in five years."

Jay chuckled as they made their way back up the stairs, pulling his sniper off of his back as he went.

"Never do that again. That's an order." Shepard grinned, patting the taller man on the shoulder. Jacob just shook his head.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, a very angry Miranda was waiting for him. Fuming was an understatement. "Are you _insane_?!" She yelled. Jay tried to speak, but she cut him off, "He could've _killed_ you down there, do you realise that?" She demanded, pointing at the corpse of the Krogan.

"Well… he didn't. C'mon, have a little faith Miranda." Jay shrugged.

"Have a little-? Did you even know what you were getting into? He was a Krogan, and a damn big one at that! If you're injured and unable to enter combat, we lose a potential gun. Losing a squad-mate in this mission is unacceptable!" She fumed before stalking off into the other room.

"Damn. Never seen a human so pissed. Nice work, by the way." Garrus praised, nodding at the Spartan.

"What can I say? If you've got it, flaunt it." Jay shrugged. Zaeed agreed behind him between bouts of laughter.

"What's left?" Shepard sighed, looking at Garrus.

"Just Blue Suns." He said as they walked into the room over-looking the bridge. "We just took out Garm. He was the leader of Blood Pack here on Omega. This day just keeps getting better and better." Garrus grinned.

"I say we take our chances." Jacob suggested. Garrus nodded at him as he picked his rifle back up.

"I agree. Tarak's got the toughest group, but nothing we haven't faced before. Besides, he won't be expecting us to hit him head-" The sound of exploding glass on the far end of the room interrupted Garrus as a gunship began aiming into the room.

"Heads up!" Miranda yelled out, diving into cover.

"Get down!" Jay yelled as everyone dived behind the closest cover. Immediately it's guns opened fire. If any of the squad had been stood up, they wouldn't have been in one piece.

"Dammit! I thought I took that thing out already!" Garrus yelled over the noise.

Zaeed called back, "I thought I'd stopped it getting repaired, too!"

"Zaeed, you fucking suck!" Jay quipped as he ducked back behind his cover.

"Lock it down!" Shepard ordered once the gunship left. He looked out of his cover and spotted Blue Suns mercs rappelling in through the window. "Contacts! Light 'em up!" He ordered. Immediately, everyone stepped out of cover and fired down the length of the room. Blue Suns who weren't already in cover were peppered with bullets, some falling back out the window.

"Take out the Legionnaire!" Zaeed yelled over to Jay, who quickly lifted his sniper and fired down range. The mercs head was blown clean off.

After a few minutes of the fire fight, silence echoed in the room. It was almost deafening. Garrus scanned the room with his Vindicator, his Viper strapped to his back.

"Archangel!" came Taraks voice as the gunship came into view again.

"Cover, now!" Jacob called out, watching as Jay slid across the floor into cover next to him. Garrus wasn't so lucky. Being further way from cover than anyone else, he took a few rounds. He slumped down in pain, his back against his cover opposite Jay and Jacob.

"Garrus!" Shepard called out.

"I'm alive!" He called back.

"This ends now!" came Taraks threat as the gunship tilted to fire off a few missiles, all impacting around Garrus' cover, throwing him across the room.

"No!" Shepard yelled out, standing up from cover and firing grenade after grenade from his grenade launcher. One detonated on the cockpit, destroying whatever was inside. A few seconds later, the gunship spiralled down onto the bridge and exploded.

Throwing down his launcher, Shepard vaulted over the couch to where Garrus lay, his vitals dangerously low.

"Zaeed, call in a med-evac now!" Shepard demanded, keeping pressure on the wound on Garrus' face. He looked down at the Turian who was gasping for breath as he clutched his rifle, "We're getting you out of here Garrus, I promise. Just hold on." John promised.

* * *

Shepard, Jacob and Jay all stood around the table in the briefing room as they waited for news on the Turian. They'd all gotten out of their armor a few hours prior. Jay and John were stood in BDU's with the Cerberus logo removed. Jacob just stood there in his own personal slacks.

"The wait is killing me." Jay grumbled, leaning on the table and letting out a sigh.

"We did what we could for Garrus, but he took a bad hit." Jacob warned sadly, looking down at the table. Shepard glanced down at the table. Jacob paused for a moment, bringing a hand up to his ear. He smiled slightly. "The docs corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but…" Jacob paused, glancing at the door as it slid open, revealing Garrus in his beaten up armor. The right side of his face covered in a bandage.

"Shepard." Garrus greeted casually.

"Tough son of a bitch. Didn't think he'd be up yet." Grinned Jacob. Jay and John let out a sigh of relief.

"Nobody would give me a mirror, how bad is it?" Garrus asked, looking at Shepard directly.

"Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face-paint on there and no one will even notice." John grinned.

Garrus chuckled before wincing in pain, "Ha-ah! Don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is." The Turian paused, "Ah, it's probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me. Time for you to get a fair shot at it." Shepard just shook his head and smirked. Jacob saluted the Commander before nodding at both Jay and Garrus before making his way to the armory.

"Frankly, I'm more worried about you. I've heard some bad things about Cerberus these past few years." Garrus sighed. John shrugged.

"That's why I'm glad you're here Garrus. If I'm walking into hell, I want someone I trust at my side." He paused, looking over at Jay, "No offence." He added with a grin.

"None taken, Commander." Jay nodded, grinning just as much. Garrus snorted.

"You realise this plan has me walking into hell as well, right? Hah. Just like old times." Garrus nodded. "I'm fit for duty whenever you need me Shepard. I'll settle in and see what I can do down in the main batteries." He nodded at the two men before turning around and leaving.

"Damn, his threshold must be damned impressive." Jay whistled, nodding appreciatively.

"Alright Spartan, dismissed." Shepard smiled, saluting the super-soldier. The soldier nodded at him as he walked past. "Oh, and Jay?" He called out, causing the man to paused momentarily. "We'll be dropping you off at Elysium next." The Spartan nodded in appreciation before stepping out of the room.

* * *

"Miranda, can we talk?" Jay asked, wincing as he spoke into her buzzer.

"Enter." Came her short response.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" He asked as the door opened.

"Not at all." She replied, folding her arms on her desk. "What gave you that idea?" She asked sarcastically.

"Well-" Jay began. Miranda cut him off with a pointed glare. "Yeah, I'm in trouble." He grumbled.

"Seriously, are you _trying_ to get yourself killed? You're one of the most effective people I've seen in combat before, but you're also the most reckless. How do you expect to survive this if you keep pulling stunts like that?" She demanded. Jay just shrugged.

"I thought this was a suicide mission?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean!" She snapped. He held his hands up as a form of surrender.

"Believe it or not, I know my own limits. I've gone up against worse than him before. Did I ever tell you about Elysium?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. She gave him the glare again. "All I'm saying is, I know what I can and can't deal with. One Krogan? Please, it's not even a fair fight. For them." He added with a childish grin. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What can I help you with?" She asked wearily.

"I'm headed to Elysium in a few hours. We're a few relays away so I got some time to kill." He shrugged.

"Why are you going there?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why so curious?" He retorted, raising an eyebrow of his own. She shrugged, causing him to sigh. "Someone's trying to start the Spartan programme back up. I'm going to go and stop it."

"I thought-" She began, confused.

"That I'd be happy? No. Not a chance. If they were _my_ Spartans, sure. But they're not." He shrugged, frowning. He was silent a moment, "Shepard is dropping me off in-system. I've got orders to bring you with me." He muttered.

"And why is that?" She demanded, standing up.

"It's infiltration. Not an all-out assault. He's going to give us a week to get the op done while he picks up Jack and Okeer. It also means we're going to need a reason behind a pair like me and you to go planet-side once customs checks us." Jay noted, watching as she calmed down and sat back in her seat, thinking.

"I assume you have no contacts of your own to fabricate a background for you then?" She asked, leaning forward and typing something into her terminal. He shook his head. "Very well, I'll divert a few Cerberus resources." She offered. He nodded his thanks and stood up.

"I appreciate your help." Jay muttered, loud enough for her to hear before he walked out of her office.

* * *

"Shit, the killer robot come to pick on the cripple?" Joker asked as Jay approached the cockpit. Jay snorted.

"Depends, you got a pair of clippers I can borrow? Or are you just going to keep pissing into a bottle?" He asked, looking at the assorted bottles stashed under the pilots chair. He grimaced slightly.

"Yeah, it's in my footlocker over there." Joker pointed to the corner as he turned to face the Spartan.

"So what, you sleep up here too?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow as he opened the locker.

"Of course not!" Joker defended, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Then I suppose this pillow here is just for when you get lonely?" Jay quipped, holding the pillow up for emphasis. "The blanket too?" He added.

"Fuck you man, someone's got to fly the ship." Joker chuckled.

"You know that's what auto-pilot is for, right?" Jay smirked slightly, pulling the clippers out and placing the other belongings back where he got them.

"Technicalities man." Joker dismissed with a shrug. Jay began chuckling, looking into the bottom of the locker. "What?" The helmsman asked carefully after hearing the Spartans chuckle.

"Fornax? _Really_, Joker? Are you _that_ lonely?" Jay snickered, holding the offending item between a single finger and thumb. A few of the nearby crew joining as they over-heard the conversation.

"I guess it's just hate on the cripple day today!" Joker exclaimed with a smirk as he turned back to the helm.

"Thanks for the clippers." Jay thanked, patting the pilot on the shoulder gently as he tossed the magazine onto the pilots lap.


	5. Chapter 5

\- CHAPTER 5

The back of the shuttle was cramped. Too cramped for some people's liking. Despite room enough for the two occupants of the Kodiak shuttle to stand, there was still a very large pile of suitcases piled up carefully on a trolley. If not for the technology inside the framework, the metal would have groaned and collapsed within seconds. Jay smirked to himself as he thought over the last twenty four hours. A sigh next to him drew his attention downwards.

"I can't believe the fate of the galaxy is at stake and we're running off to find a bunch of kids." Miranda's voice grumbled next to him.

"Trust me, if you knew what those kids are going to go through, you wouldn't be saying that." Jay snorted.

"Just remember, whatever you find down there, focus on the mission." She retorted, brushing a lock of dark hair from her eyes. Jay shuffled, feeling uncomfortable in his clothes. He was wearing a black vest top that Shepard had lent him along with some baggy pants of some sort and some combat boots loosely tied up. Miranda on the other hand seemed perfectly content. Jay grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Miranda asked, looking at him for the first time, noticing his recently cut hair. He'd left it longer on top, she noticed.

"I said civilians dress stupid." Jay responded, rolling his shoulders.

"Well, remember you're just recently a civilian. So don't worry. Let's go over our cover. Name?" She asked, turning to face him fully.

"Jay Torres. Formerly of the 343rd Alliance Marine division stationed off of Arcturus. Yours?" He smirked, raising an eyebrow at his companion.

"Miranda Torres. Recently married. Grew up on Arcturus where she met Gunnery Chief Jay Torres and the two hopelessly fell in love." She threw back, changing her voice to that which someone may hopefully associate with a woman hopelessly in love.

"Huh. Never figured I'd get married. I suppose miracles do happen." He grinned in response. She just glared at him. A few chuckles could be heard from the cockpit. After a quick rap of his knuckles on the door, the sound mysteriously cut off. Jay grinned.

"_Last stop, Illyria spaceport. Thank you for flying air-Kodiak, and we hope you have a pleasant stay. Love birds."_ Hawthorne chuckled through the comm.

As the two stepped off of the Kodiak, with the bustling spaceport before them with the various species milling about, Jay grimaced. With a slight groan, he gently pulled the trolley off of the shuttle before it left, shooting up into the sky.

"You got everything, sweetie?" Miranda asked from behind him. It took him a moment to realise she was talking to him. He turned around quickly, briefly smiling down at her. She was giving him a _very_ convincing toothy smile.

"I, uh, yeah. Everything's here." He cleared his throat, watching as she wrapped a delicate arm around one of his. He tensed momentarily, but found the experience… soothing. He shrugged and started walking towards the final stop before stepping out onto the planet. The security checkpoint.

The line wasn't large, and yet, it wasn't small either. They stood there patiently waiting. Occasionally Miranda would say something, or ask him something and he'd respond how he assumed any other man would respond. He sighed, wiping a hand down his face while she looked up at him, a small frown on her face.

"You okay?" She asked, stroking his arm gently.

"Just tired, is all." He responded, fully knowing how many people surrounded the two of them.

"C'mon, we'll be in the apartment in no time. Then we can just… relax." She said happily, grinning up at him. It was scary how well she could act.

"Next!" Came the voice of the customs official, prompting the two to step through the security machines and up to a desk on the far side. Jay winced, hoping their weapons and armor hidden inside the boxes wouldn't set off the alarms. After no alarms started blaring, he let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.

"Hey there." Came the uninterested greeting of a young man at the desk. Miranda waved enthusiastically.

"Hi!" Was her reply. The man looked up and gaped a few moments. He had reason to. Miranda was wearing a summery dress that did nothing but enhance her natural beauty. The dress was a standard fabric that was dyed red and was held up by two tiny straps - that by the laws of physics - couldn't hold up something like the dress. The black heels Miranda was wearing with the thigh length dress only added to the stun-value. Jay had been speechless for a few moments when he'd first seen her aboard the _Normandy_.

"I-uh-hi." The Guard responded dumbly, snapping himself out of his stupor. He cleared his throat and attempted to look imposing and official. "Uh, names and purpose of arrival?" He asked, practically ignoring the heavily muscled Spartan.

"Oh! I'm Miranda Torres, and _this_-" She paused, placing her arm around Jay's back to rest on his far hip. "is my husband! We just moved here. Jay here is originally from Elysium, and we figured we'd move back. Right honey?" She cooed, blinking her long, dark eyelashes up at him.

"Y-yeah." He responded, having to clear his throat as well. The Guard just glared at him for a moment.

"Occupation, sir?" He asked. Jay smirked.

"Ex-marine. 343rd division stationed off of Arcturus." The Guards glare instantly disappeared, a small smile on his face.

"My sisters there. Ever hear of a Corporal Diana Wilson?" He asked, leaning forward on his desk slightly.

"No sir." He replied, truthfully. Jay continued smiling at the man.

"Ah, too bad. Oh well, you're clear to go through. Hope Elysium treats you well." He winked at the two of them. Miranda started walking forward before Jay could. A hand on his arm made him pause.

"Bro, how the _fuck_ do I land someone that hot?" The man demanded, his eyes begging the super-soldier.

Jay chuckled, pointing at the cart. "Trust me, a girl _that_ hot comes with _a lot_ of baggage." He grinned, pushing the trolley away.

* * *

"You know, it's scary how well you can act. Anyone ever tell you that?" Jay laughed as the two of them entered the apartment. Miranda grinned back at him.

"It can have its uses." She replied. Jay paused as he started to offload the containers into the middle of the small apartment they'd rented on it's own bit of land. It was basically just a large prefab in the middle of a field that had a thick area of trees behind it. It was the closest place to the mountain range where he used to train.

"Then how do I know you're the real you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her over his shoulder. She shrugged and smiled back at him. When no response came, he snorted and went back to unloading the trolley.

"So, what's our first move? You're in charge of this op." She asked, calling out from her bedroom after an hour. Jay had actually managed to get quite a lot done in that hour. He'd managed to set up his armoring station and set up a weapons bench too.

"Get a lay of the land. Learn our surroundings. All we can do for now." He shrugged, cleaning the barrel of his pistol.

"So… how do you plan on doing that?" She asked, standing in her doorway. He shrugged, glancing at her briefly.

"I figure I can do some recon in the morning. Don't you worry about it, I'll do all the hard work." He winked, grinning at her as she snorted.

"Why don't we go out?" She suggested, yawning slightly.

"Oh please, you're tired enough as it is." He dismissed with a wave. She raised an amused eyebrow.

"And that 'just tired' thing back at the spaceport was an act then?" She asked, smirking. He shrugged in return.

"Spartans can operate efficiently on little to no sleep. Sometimes days at a time." He responded. "I'll be fine." He added with a small smile.

"I know about the kids and all, but something else is bothering you." She pointed out, taking a seat on a stool next to him. When all she got was a grunt, she added, "Look, I can't have you endangering the mission - your mission, may I add - by you not getting enough sleep."

He let out a long breath, placing his dismantled weapon on the table in front of him. "I guess you're right. Okay, shoot. What do you want to know?" He asked.

"Why are you looking for these kids? Why do you think they're here?" She questioned, resting her hand in her palm sleepily - the obvious jet-lag was affecting her, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

"Okay, fair question." He nodded slowly, "All those kids were classed as 'gifted' by the Alliance and respective planets. Those kids also all have one very specific thing in common. A genetic marker - a very rare genetic marker, may I also add." He paused for a moment. "It's that genetic marker… that's needed to create a Spartan II super-soldier."

There was complete and utter silence as the two of them sat there, looking at each other.

"That's why we're here? So you can see the new batch of Spartans come off the line?" She asked, stupefied. He shook his head silently.

"Nope. I'm here to make sure they don't become Spartans. I'm here, because they know their parents. Something that I don't" He shrugged, looking at the Cerberus Operative.

"Seriously? You're here for a good deed?" She asked.

"Never known anything else apart from being a Spartan." He smiled sadly, looking at the desk.

"I'm sorry, Jay." Miranda sighed, meaning it. She stood slowly, making her way over to her bedroom door. "Goodnight, Spartan." She smiled up at him kindly before stepping out of the room and into her bedroom.

Jay sat quietly on the stool. He just sat there for a while, not bothering to count how many hours went by. At some point, he fell asleep with his head on his desk.

* * *

"_-parents are still looking for their daughter that went missing on her way home from school. The bright young human is currently unaccounted for, though Elysium officials are still looking-"_ The vid-screen droned, the picture of a young, brunette anchorwoman talking away. Miranda groaned as she switched the screen off as she stepped into the front room where Jay had been the day before, setting up all of their equipment while he told her to 'go relax'. She smiled briefly when she spotted the super-soldier fast asleep at his weapons bench, his arms cradling his head as he snored quietly.

Still smiling, she quietly made her way over to the kitchen, knowing full-well how much sleep he needed. He grunted quietly in his sleep, causing her to freeze suddenly. Every sound she made as she padded along the wooden flooring sounded a million times louder than it would in any other situation.

Eventually, she made her way to the kitchen and managed to sort herself a quick drink of water before making the same trip back. Silently she closed the door, oblivious to the small frown and light beads of sweat on the sleeping mans face.

* * *

Jay woke slowly a few minutes later, sitting up from the chair and popping his back. With a tired grunt, he made his way over to the bathroom, where he could hear the shower running. With a small shrug, he calmly opened the door and made his way in.

"Mornin' Miranda." He grunted, splashing cold water on his face. The scream from the shower waking him up completely as he dropped to a crouch, anticipating an attack.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?!" Miranda screeched from the shower. Jay turned to look at her and saw how her wet hair had stuck to her face. He saw everything. Even how the water was running down her stomach to - he averted his gaze instantly, back up to her eyes. She stood there with one arm covering her chest - and not doing a very good job at it, while another - and a leg, was protecting everything down below as she attempted to hide behind the flimsy shower curtain.

"Uh… I came to wash my face?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Get, out!" She screamed. The tone in her voice was enough to cause the large man to scramble from the room. The moment the door closed behind him, the water from the shower shut off and Miranda stormed out, wrapped in a white towel.

"What was that?" She demanded, red in the face from both embarrassment and anger. Jay paled considerably. He knew when he was in trouble.

"I went in there to wash my face…" He tried, backing up against the far wall as Miranda approached him.

"To wash your -" She began, shocked, "Jay, you could hear the water running for Christ's sake!" She yelled into his face - an impressive feat in itself. "Why would you enter an _occupied_ bathroom?!"

Jay shrugged, "Never been an issue before. I'm used to it. All the Spartans showered together, washed together, bunked together. Figured it was the same everywhere." He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Miranda almost appeared to physically shrink in size as she calmed down. "Jay, I know you've not been a civilian before, but I swear to God, if you _ever_ walk in on me in the shower again, I _will_ kill you." She growled, before spinning around, her loose wet hair slapping Jay across the chest as she left.

* * *

The two of them sat comfortably in the small restaurant a few brief minutes walk into the city from where they were staying. Miranda was sat opposite Jay in their little booth, eating a human delicacy that Jay had never even heard of. She was wearing a silky red dress that cut off at her ankles, yet still showed off her figure. Her hair fell in dark ringlets that framed her face and a pair of dark earrings hung gently from her ears. Jay looked up briefly from the simple steak and chips he was feasting on and noticed how well her make-up was done. Red lipstick complimented her dress while her dark eyeliner gave her even brighter eyes than she already had.

"Why, Mr Torres, are you checking me out?" She grinned up at him as she caught his eye briefly. Despite all of his training as a Spartan for the innumerable amount of years it had been, he still felt a light blush creeping it's way onto his cheeks.

"Uh, there's no correct answer to that, is there?" He asked, eyeing the patrons around them. Miranda giggled girlishly as she reached over the table and placed her hand on one of his briefly, playing the role of a young woman perfectly.

"Do you want to get out of here? Fancy a walk?" She asked, as she finished the last of her food and dabbed at the corners of her mouth elegantly. Jay nodded enthusiastically.

"Please." He chuckled, looking around as he fiddled with the suit Miranda had picked out for him. Another of Shepards - and it was far too tight.

"Alright, we'll get the bill." She reassured him, silently noting his discomfort. She flagged a waiter over and requested the bill, paying soon after.

Jay all but ran out of the restaurant, looking over his shoulder at the woman behind him, "I hate restaurants." He grumbled.

"Was that your first time in one?" She asked quietly, as they began to wander along the streets aimlessly.

"When I haven't been firing a weapon, pretty much. Oh! They also have a habit of blowing up around me too." He grunted, smirking slightly.

"At least that one didn't. Who knows, perhaps your opinion - as stubborn as it is - can be changed." She offered, walking on the Spartans right side. He merely shrugged as his eyes darted about in the darkness.

"This street is far too open." He muttered finally after some few minutes in silence. Miranda sighed, annoyed.

"Always expecting an attack?" She asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Miranda, suffer through what I did, and you'll always expect something." He shrugged, glancing over his shoulder to see if they were being followed. Despite the practically empty street, Jay still wasn't satisfied. A small movement from Miranda drew his attention away from the street as he looked at her. She was shivering.

"Cold?" He asked, amused. Her bare back and stomach were left open to the cold night air, and she'd told Jay she hadn't had time to pack any jackets that went with the dress earlier in the prefab.

"Of course not." She stubbornly replied, folding her arms over her stomach as she glared at him. With a shrug, he unbuttoned his jacket and shrugged it off. With an amused smirk, he carefully draped the jacket over her shoulders. She kept glaring, but nonetheless nodded in thanks. She looked up slowly, spotting somewhere that was still open.

"What's that?" She asked, motioning with her head to a building further down the street.

"Dunno. Last time I was here, I didn't exactly stop to check out the sights." He reminded her, grinning a little. She snorted as she began to approach large, concrete building.

Upon closer inspection, Jay managed to make out the words 'Museum' from the carving in the ornate top pillar. He glanced at Miranda, "You want to go around a musty museum at this hour?" He asked shocked.

"Beats being in the cold." She pointed out fairly. "Besides, it's something to do." She shrugged, already stepping up the steps.

"Fair enough." He shrugged, following her up.

Inside was well lit, signs pointing to the various exhibits dotted around the main floor. One sign caught Jay's attention and caused him to falter in his step. Miranda noticed the Spartans hesitancy and glanced at him, before looking at what he was looking at.

'**Elysium Blitz**'

"I-" Jay tried, but when no words came out, Miranda gently patted his arm, gently leading him into the exhibit.

"Come on, maybe it'll do you some good." Miranda said gently, leading him along slowly, glancing at each and every exhibit. There was everything from weapons to suits of armor that seemed to have been used in the conflict. It seemed the museum had even been able to get permission to have some video footage of the battle as they played out in silence along the walls.

On the far wall from the entrance is where Jay's attention was drawn though. Sitting on a pedestal, bathed in white spotlights, was a Spartans helmet. Jay almost stumbled as his legs quivered beneath him. Without waiting for Miranda, his large strides took him straight up to the irreparable helmet. It was dented beyond repair, the metal warped - half the visor was blown out.

"Is that-?" Miranda began to ask, her mouth agape. How could a museum have a piece of Spartan equipment on show and Cerberus not know?

"A Spartans helmet." Jay breathed out, staring into the vacant visor. "Daniel - 187, specifically." He added after a moment.

"You know who it belonged to?" She asked, stunned.

"Knew it the moment I saw it. He was the last Spartan casualty." He paused, looking down at Miranda for moment. "My best friend."

She was stunned into silence, both of them staring at the fallen soldiers helmet. Jay looked down, spotting a terminal below it. Quickly pressing the 'play' option, a holographic screen appeared before them, showing a man walking through a green field.

"_Hello there. The exhibit you're looking at, was recovered in the aftermath of the Skyllian Blitz here on Elysium. Now, not much is known about the brave defenders that appeared at our colonies hour of need, but what we do know - is their name." The narrator paused, smiling._

"_Spartans." He said dramatically. "And what a fitting title too! Using video footage of the attack from various sources, we manage to work out, just how many there were - 33. 33 of these Spartans stood strong in the face of thousands of Batarian pirates and mercenaries. This colony owes it's very existence to these men and women, who may very well one day fade into myth, much like their predecessors." The narrator stopped walking, smiling at the camera kindly._

"_Over these next few minutes, we'll show you audio and- completely uncensored - video footage of these brave men and women. Viewer discretion is advised, due to the nature of this footage._

_A Batarian carrier ship flew in low orbit above the capital city, air cars flying away from it's perimeter as quickly as their engines could allow. After a few moments, hundreds upon hundreds of dropships began to swarm out of it's hangars - like an angry swarm._

_The shot showed the city's skyline suddenly explode as dropships and gun-ships began to unload their ammo on the helpless civilians below._

_Instantly, the shot switched to a young couple on the streets below, filming each other happily. Their happiness dissipated instantly once a gun-ship landed next to them, a Batarian jumping out and viciously gunning down the male of the couple. The woman's screams were heard over the explosions, cursing the alien responsible. Suddenly, the camera jerked up, aimed at the sky._

Miranda watched expectantly, anticipating what the woman was looking at. That's when she saw the silhouettes. She looked over at the man next to her, watching as he stood in silence, no doubt remembering his perspective on this. Miranda gently reached out and slid her hand into Jay's, giving it a gently, consoling squeeze. The woman was watching the arrival of the Spartans.

_A couple of feet off of the ground, the Spartans flipped in mid-air from a freefall and purple jets seemingly sprang out of the armor on their backs, instantly slowing them down enough to safely land. Without wasting a second, the super-soldiers opened fire on the gunship, killing it's occupants. Once the woman was safe, a tall Spartan approached her, kneeling down to her position on the floor._

"_Ma'am, get to a safe location - we'll take it from here." Came the deep voice._

Miranda glanced sharply at the man next to her - it was his.

"_I-I can't! T-they killed Kevin! I won't leave him!" She wailed, the camera shaking as she sobbed._

"_I know, ma'am, but we're here to protect the colony and its citizens. The best thing you can do for Kevin right now, is to get to one of the designated safe-zones. Can you do that for me?" Jay asked, pulling the woman up gently as she dropped her camera. The video showed the woman's legs dart off and Jay's turn to face his Spartans. _

"_Alright ladies, we've got a home to protect! Double time it Spartans!" Jay barked out, pairs of boots darting off in different directions._

"I'm sorry." Miranda whispered, looking up at the man next to her. He stood silent, watching the monitor as it shifted to a feed from orbit.

_The image showed Elysium from orbit. The feed seemed like it was taken from a ship on an approach vector - the Batarian pirate fleet in orbit._

_After a moment, a seemingly large number of fires could be seen on the planet as radio chatter suddenly came in over the image._

"_Oh my God!" Came a mans voice - presumably a Captains._

"_What's happening down there?!" A woman demanded as men and women began to scream for help._

"_We've got Batarians down here! Marines, requesting supp-Ah!" A marine managed to call out, apparently before getting shot. Suddenly the audio went silent, a lone voice remained._

"_Hello? Is anyone alive down there? Respond!" A man asked frantically._

"_This is Sierra 049. We have Spartans on the ground, sir. We're not going anywhere." Jay's voice promised._

"It was…" Jay began as the screen went blank. Miranda gently patted him on the arm, silently consoling him.

"Can I help you?" Came an elderly voice from behind them. Jay spun around, a hand on his concealed weapon.

"We were just looking." Miranda replied quickly, smiling at the elder man who appeared to be the curator. He nodded sadly.

"Ah, I understand. The Skyllian Blitz, eh? I noticed how you went straight to the Spartan exhibit." He noted with a small smile, looking directly at Jay.

"Can I help you, sir?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"No. Not an old man like me." He grinned, hobbling over as he looked up at the Spartan, "Big fella, ain't ya'?" He chuckled, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

"Ex-marine, sir. Stationed out of Arcturus." Jay responded immediately.

"Ah, no need to lie to me, son. I already figured out who you are. Sierra 049." He smiled, watching as Jay flinched. Miranda glanced to Jay, whom she noticed was looking at her, wondering what to do. "I figure there's a reason why you're panicking. Son, you and your Spartans are hero's. There's no need to be afraid. I'm sorry that so many were killed." He added sadly.

"Spartans never die, sir." Jay replied, clearing his throat gently, almost as if he were trying to convince himself. Miranda thought she heard his voice break slightly.

"Y'know, son. That was my grand-daughter you saved." He pointed out, looking at the Spartan. Miranda smiled. "If it wasn't for you and your fellow soldiers, my grand-daughter would either be dead or a slave." The man began, sniffling slightly as tears welled up, "I just want to say, thank you." The man finished, dabbing at his eyes.

"It was my pleasure, sir." Jay replied, smiling.

"I'll let you two have some time alone. Spend as long as you want here." The man said, hobbling off. The Spartan nodded silently and started the vid from the beginning again. Miranda stood there, holding the soldiers hand the entire time.

* * *

"You remember the plan, right?" Jay asked as they approached the facility. Over the last few days, both Jay and Miranda had been doing recon to assess the defences of the complex. Miranda was lying on the ground next to Jay in her combat armor. She glared at him from under her helmet.

"Of course." She replied. The Spartan nodded once before crawling forward slowly. After a few minutes, the two of them were a short sprint away from the side entrance that Jay had decided they use. Two guards were stood there in what appeared to be a set of white power armor with black helmets.

"Two tangos. Silenced weapons only. I'll take the one on the right." Jay whispered into her earpiece as they both pulled out rifles. "On your go." Jay added once their weapons were set up. A few seconds later, both guards were dropped.

"Clear." Miranda announced, shuffling forward through the rocky terrain as it began to rain.

"Get inside, I'll cover you." Jay ordered, sliding his sniper onto his back while at the same time pulling out a silenced vindicator. Immediately the woman was up and sprinting towards the opening in the mountain, jumping over any obstacles that were in her way.

"I'm in." She panted, sliding to a stop. A moment later, she turned around to look for Jay, and when he materialised before her out of seemingly nothing, she jumped back slightly.

"Me too." He chuckled quietly, slowly approaching the two guards.

"What kind of armor is that?" Miranda asked curiously, kneeling down and turning one of the corpses over.

"No clue. It has the same Cerberus logo the _Normandy_ has though." Jay noted, pointing absently at one of the chest pieces. Miranda frowned in thought, wondering what Cerberus would want in a facility like this.

"What are they doing here?" Miranda asked aloud, briefly looking up at the Spartan.

"Doesn't matter." He shrugged, "Either way, we need to get moving." Instantly he was on the move, Miranda quickly following him.

They made their way through the various hallways silently, keeping an eye on their radars for any signs of movement while their ears listened for any sounds. The hallways were dark and militaristic, all looking the same. If Miranda was in here on her own without Jay's knowledge of the facility, she held no doubts that she'd get lost. It annoyed Miranda, knowing how much she was relying on the Spartan.

"Hold up." Jay whispered, flattening himself against the wall. He peered around it slowly. "Two mechs up ahead." A moment later, Jay disappeared again, though a few seconds later when two crunches echoed from around the corner, she knew it was safe to join him.

As she walked around the corner, she noticed the two headless machine corpses on the floor, twitching slightly as they sparked. She looked up and motioned to the mechs.

"Over-kill?" She asked, amused.

The Spartan shrugged, "Quickest way to neutralise anything. Go for the head."

Miranda sighed as Jay began to move again, though his voice chimed in over their comm. "We're just around the corner from cryo. If they're holding the kids here, then that's where they'll be."

As the Spartan spun around the corner to where he was leading the two of them, his rifle fired two bursts of ammo, dropping the two guards standing talking. Jay wasn't interested in what the two of them were talking about and decided not to waste time - they were on a schedule. The Spartan never broke a stride as he approached the door panel.

"Codes shouldn't have changed." He muttered, typing in his access code. A few seconds later, he was rewarded with the door silently opening, allowing him and Miranda a full view at the hundred or so cryo stasis pods that lined the walls. Miranda gasped.

"You were right." She muttered, walking up to one of the pods and peering in at the small child inside. The child couldn't have been any older than seven. She stood up suddenly, looking at the Spartan. "Cerberus wouldn't do this. Not to children. We must be dealing with a rogue cell." She declared, removing her helmet. The Spartan turned around slowly from a terminal he was looking at.

"We can't rule anything out. Rogue or not, it looks like Cerberus is willing to do anything to get its hands on some Spartans." He pointed out fairly. He motioned to the terminal behind him. "You think you could get these kids out while I stand guard?" He asked. Miranda nodded and quickly stepped up to the terminal.

Quickly scrolling through the various functions of the terminal, she noticed a few extra files than normal. Through further exploration, with her fingers weaving over the holographic interface, she realised that the terminal also seemed to double as an access to data storage - very strange, especially for a military complex. Her curiosity getting the better of her for a moment, she began to scroll through various names and files, though one stood out the most.

**SPARTAN CANDIDATE 049 - JAY**

She hesitated for only a second, before her fingers opened up the file, listing his commendations and the various training and augmentations. Her eyes scanned the words and numbers, noting how even before his augmentations were added to his body, he'd already killed three instructors in hand-to-hand.

Scrolling down a little, she noticed a video log. Silently pressing the button, she watched as it quietly played out before her eyes.

"_What's your name?" A woman asked kindly to a small boy. The child looked adorable, hugging a teddy bear, though the fact that the child was trying to hide in the corner obviously showed he was terrified._

"_J-Jay." The boy sniffled, looking up at the woman with tears in his eyes._

"_Hello Jay, I'm Catherine." The woman whispered, kneeling down in front of him. The woman had dark hair and a white lab coat on over a white blouse and a grey pencil skirt._

"_H-hi." He muttered, wiping his nose on his sleeve._

"_Do you know why you're here, Jay?" Catherine asked softly, shuffling so she was sat next to him._

"_No." The boy moaned, sniffling again, "Where's my mummy and daddy?" _

"_They're safe, don't worry." Catherine promised, wrapping a kind arm around the young boy, "But we have something special for you, Jay."_

"_What's that?" Jay asked, looking up at Catherine._

"_Do you want to protect your family and friends?" She asked kindly, smiling slightly. Jay nodded enthusiastically._

"_Yeah." He smiled slightly._

"_Well, if you let me, I want to help you do that. What do you say, Jay? Do you want to become a Spartan?" Catherine asked, the video footage ending._

Miranda clicked on the next one, glancing briefly over her shoulder at the Spartan stood in the doorway. She smiled sadly, though he never saw it.

_The video showed a hundred or so children stood on a training mat, running through various drills. None looked any older than thirteen._

"_Move it maggots!" The instructor yelled as some of the children did push ups, while others were engaging in hand-to-hand. Their figures showed bodies of athletes, not young children. The instructor stopped suddenly at a child who seemed to be nearing the end of her endurance._

"_Lisa 091, are you getting tired, soldier?" He yelled into her ear as he kneeled down. To the kids credit, she didn't flinch or waver in the slightest._

"_No, sir!" She barked back, grunting as she pushed herself up._

"_Then why are you going so slow?" He yelled back._

"_Because you made her do twice as much as everyone else, sir!" A male voice chimed in from off camera._

"_Did you just say something, 049?" The instructor yelled, livid as he spun around and marched over to a lanky, pre-pubescent Jay._

"_Yes sir." Jay replied, standing up._

"_You getting smart with your instructor boy?"_

"_No sir. I'm defending a fellow soldier from a threat, sir." Jay replied, now standing up and looking up at the instructor. The other Spartans and stopped what they were doing and were watching the events unfold before them._

"_Maybe I should teach you some manners, boy!" The instructor growled, attempting to backhand the child. Just before his hand made contact, Jay ducked beneath the swing and threw a punch into the belly of the larger man. The moment the man doubled over, Jay swung his knee up, connecting it with his face. A quick jab to his throat later, and the man was lying on the ground, choking._

_Jay ignored the dying man as he jogged over to Lisa. "You okay?" He asked, lifting the fatigued Spartan up from where she'd been sitting._

"_I'm fine, Jay. Really." She smiled, draping an arm over her fellow Spartans shoulder as he supported her weak body._

"_You don't look it. Here, I'll get you to the med-bay." He offered, briefly glancing at the kids watching him from behind._

"_That was a hell of a thing, Jay." A blonde boy spoke up, his body a little broader than Jay's._

_Jay shrugged as he grinned, "You'd have done the same thing for me, Dan." He smiled, carrying Lisa off to the infirmary._

Miranda smiled, despite herself at Jay defending one of his allies like he did. She clicked on the final entry.

_Jay lay there on an operating table, looking only a few years older. Catherine walked into the same room as the Spartan who was hooked up to various machines._

"_Hey Doc." Jay greeted, his voice slurred as he attempted to salute._

"_Hello, Jay." She smiled, pushing the young soldier down as she took a seat next to his bed._

"_So, what's the objective here? Is this another exercise?" Jay asked, confused. The Doctor smiled sadly._

"_It is. You won't be able to bring back everyone from this though." She warned, placing a hand on one of his own._

"_What do you mean, Doc?" He asked, confused._

"_Not everyone is as strong and stubborn as you, Jay. I know you love your Spartans, but sometimes, casualties are unavoidable." She sighed sadly._

"_My Spartans can get through anything. You'll see. Just tell us the objective and we'll do it." He grinned, looking up at her._

"_Okay. Your first objective, is to stop fighting the anaesthetic." She replied dryly, fixing him with a smirk and a glare. The young Spartan grinned cheekily. "You're next objective will be to survive." She whispered, standing up slowly._

"_We won't let you down, ma'am." He promised, closing his eyes._

"We had over half our numbers wiped out from the augmentations." Jay whispered, suddenly appearing behind Miranda. She'd been so focused on the log, she hadn't heard Jay approach behind her.

"Who was the Doctor?" She asked curiously.

"Doctor Catherine Halsey. Lead scientist of the Spartan project. The project was her baby - so to speak." Jay shrugged. Miranda wiped a tear off of her cheek she realised hadn't felt.

"C'mon, we need to get to the control centre." Jay said after a few seconds. Nodding quietly, Miranda followed silently as Jay led the way. Once again, Miranda found herself amazed at the skill the Spartan was displaying as he neutralised guards and mechs silently. Despite their situation, and that their window for pulling this op off successfully was shrinking, Miranda smiled to herself as she watched the Spartan work. She felt safe - protected.

"The _Normandy_ will be here in a few minutes. We're just outside the control centre." Jay whispered after a few minutes. Miranda nodded silently, brushing a lock of her dark hair from her face. Jay paused slightly, switching to his thermal imaging.

"Miranda, stay hidden. Whoever's behind here is… big." Jay muttered, pushing her into the shadows. She began to protest but thought better of it. A few seconds later, Miranda watched as the Spartan drew his pistol and stepped through the door. She followed silently, sticking to the shadows.

"Nice of you to finally make it here, Jay." A deep voice welcomed happily as Jay entered the room. His pistol trained on the figure at the end of the room, he approached slowly.

"Why are you trying to restart the Spartan project?" He demanded.

"Oh please, I would've thought you of all people would want this!" The figure chuckled, stepping out of the shadows. Jay lowered his pistol slowly, stunned.

"Dan?" He asked, not believing his own eyes.

"One and only. What, you figured I was dead?" The other Spartan replied, his armor now fully visible. While Jay's armor was black with gold highlights, Dan's was a dark blue with white highlights.

"I didn't figure it, I watched you die!" Jay yelled, raising his pistol again. Daniel snorted.

"Please. You saw me get swarmed by Batarian filth, then you left me for dead." He growled.

"You told me to run! You _know_ I would've tried to get to you if I could've!" Jay retorted, his voice full of anger and pain.

"You were a coward! You let us all get killed!" Dan screeched, pulling out a pistol of his own, the two Spartans stood there, weapons raised at each other.

"How did you escape?" Jay asked, his eyes narrowing behind his visor.

"Cerberus. The Alliance didn't want anything else to do with the Spartan programme! Cerberus made me stronger, quicker and smarter than any other Spartan!" Dan chuckled, motioning towards his armor.

"They gave you new armor?" Jay asked, shocked.

Dan shook his head, "Nothing as simple as that. They gave me advanced cybernetics. C'mon, Jay! You know we weren't supposed to be anything more than machines! Though, from what I've seen, you've forgotten that little bit of the fine print." Dan snorted, "Or did you forget about that woman in the red dress that went to the museum with you?"

"Leave her out of this, Dan." Jay growled dangerously.

"That always was your Achilles heel, huh?" Dan asked rhetorically.

"Touch her, and there won't be anywhere you can hide where I won't find you." Jay warned. Dan popped his neck enthusiastically.

"Uh-uh-uh." Dan tsked, waving a finger in front of him. "Remember, Spartans don't get attached."

"Spartans don't sell their loyalty either!" Jay roared angrily, throwing his pistol off to the side as he popped his own neck, Dan's pistol soon followed.

"So what, you're here to kill me?" Dan laughed, bending his knees slightly.

"I'll do what I have to." Jay promised, his thrusters springing out of the back of his armor.

"That woman is going to be more fun to kill, I think." Dan taunted, stepping to the side as Jay boosted towards him, attempting to take him by surprise. Dan grabbed the Spartan and sent him flying through the wall with a crunch.

Jay groaned as he pulled himself up. Dan had never moved that quickly before. Hell, no Spartan had. His head snapped up as he heard a Spartan approaching him. Jay jumped up, throwing punch after punch and kick after kick at his best friend. Dan effortlessly blocked or dodged all of his strikes.

"Please, we both know you're nothing like you used to be." Dan grunted, catching a right hook from Jay. A quick jab to his faceplate stunned him and caused him to stumble back a few steps.

"Fuck off." Jay muttered, leaping forwards again, blocking a left jab from Dan, but didn't manage to anticipate the kick that caught him in the chest, throwing him into the wall behind him, cracking the concrete.

"I told you I was stronger. At least put in some effort." Dan chuckled. Jay stood up slowly, chunks of concrete rolling off his back and shoulders.

"You never shut up, do you?" Jay retorted, jumping up and kicking the Spartan in his stomach. Dan caught his foot and threw him into the door where he'd left Miranda. The impact of the landing was enough to knock the wind out of him as he dropped to his hands and knees.

"You were her favourite, you know that?" Dan asked, watching as Jay stood up shakily. Dan jumped up a little in the air, spinning his leg around and watching as it connected with Jays helmet, smashing the visor to pieces and warping it's shape.

"Fuck. You." Jay panted, trying to push himself up, though his body screamed in agony. Before he could get himself back up, a hand picked him up by the throat, causing him to gasp for breath as he looked down at Dan as his feet dangled off the floor. Jay spat a mouthful of blood onto his best friends visor.

"Jay!" Miranda screamed, scared for the mans life. She threw a quick biotic attack at the other Spartan, though it had little to no effect. The Spartans head snapped around to look at the new threat.

"Miranda! Run! Get out-" Jay tried before Dan dropped him to his feet and threw a right hook that connected with the side of his helmet, snapping his head to the side with a sickening crack. Jay dropped to the floor, unmoving.

"No!" Miranda screamed, throwing biotic attack after attack at the approaching Spartan. Miranda tried to reach for her weapon, though she was too slow as she felt the mans hand clamp down on her throat as she too dangled off of the floor.

Dan looked between her and Jay for a moment, "Neither of you are a threat to my masters plans. Neither of you can stop them." He grunted, throwing her to the side where she landed awkwardly on her arm, a snap causing her to cry out in pain.

Dan stood in the doorway, his back facing them for a moment, "If I see you both again, you're both dead." He warned, stalking out of the door as Miranda's comm. beeped with an incoming call.

"_Miranda, Jay isn't responding. We just arrived in orbit, what's your status? Over." _Came Shepards concerned voice. She looked over at the wounded Spartan, lying unmoving and his head at an odd angle.

"Shepard, it's Miranda. Jay's wounded, badly. I'm injured too. We need immediate extraction! Bring a medical team for Jay. He's not moving. Activating beacon." She panted into her comm.

"_Copy that, on our way."_ Shepard promised, cutting off the line. Miranda glanced over at the Spartan again, dragging herself over to his body near the wall. After a few seconds, she propped herself up against the wall, placing her injured arm over her stomach then putting the Spartans helmeted head in her lap.

With a grunt, she pulled the dented and un-repairable piece of equipment off his head and gasped when she saw what had become of his face. He was bleeding out of his mouth along with large amounts of swelling over his face. His eyes were half closed. Stifling a sob, she closed his eyes all the way slowly.

Mentally, she berated herself for becoming so attached, though she knew now how similar the two of them were. Both were designed to be perfect, though for different reasons. She wasn't alone anymore.

A few minutes later, Shepard, Garrus and Jacob came charging through the door, a medical team led by Doctor Chakwas following close behind.

"Miranda!" Shepard called out into the room, his eyes sweeping it for any sign of them.

"Over here!" She called out, watching as Shepard's head snapped over to her direction. He almost stumbled when he saw the condition of the Spartan.

"Oh shit! What happened to the big guy?" Jacob asked, shocked.

"Another Spartan." Miranda gasped, pushing some blood soaked hair back off of the unconscious mans face.

"There's more?" Shepard asked, helping the medical team manoeuvre the Spartan onto the gurney.

"Some Spartan called Daniel. Jay barely touched him." Miranda grunted, pushing herself up.

"His armor's more damaged than mine." Garrus noted, "No way that's useable anymore." Shepard nodded silently.

"We passed an armoring station further down the hall, we can get some gear from there for when he wakes up. Stubborn bastard will want to get back in the field." Jacob chuckled, smiling slightly.

"Shepard, go. I'll be fine." Miranda muttered, watching as Shepard nodded at her and motioned the two men with him to follow. Miranda couldn't remove her eyes from the beaten soldier as tears began to slide down her face slowly.


	6. Chapter 6

\- CHAPTER 6

Jay groaned as his eyelids fluttered open. His vision was blurry and he could taste iron in his mouth. As his vision began to clear, he blinked away the fuzziness as he gauged his surroundings. A beeping sound to his right confirmed his theory of being in a medical environment. Looking to his left he saw the sleeping form of one Miranda Lawson. He smiled briefly as she stirred slightly, moaning quietly as she woke up.

Removing his oxygen mask, he grimaced down at her, "My face wasn't ruined too badly, was it?"

She glared at him as she gently swatted his bandaged stomach lightly. "Don't even go there. How long have you been awake?" She asked, a slight tinge of concern in her voice. Jay shrugged as best he could, wincing slightly.

"Just woke up. Where are we?" He asked, noticing the closed blinds.

"In the med bay on the _Normandy_. I called in a med-evac for you." She smiled kindly, standing up slowly. Jay narrowed his eyes when he spotted her arm in a sling.

"How did you break your arm?" He growled.

"It does-" She tried, though Jay cut her off.

"It matters. Was it Dan?" He demanded, his chest rising and falling quicker and quicker.

"Yes." She muttered, glancing down slightly.

"He's a dead man." Jay growled, pulling the various IV's and other medical equipment off of him. Miranda pushed him back down.

"You move, and you're a dead man, Spartan." Miranda warned, her tone warning the soldier. Jay grunted, looking down at his body for the first time. His chest was bare, but the tell-tale signs of combat injuries were there.

"How bad was it?" Jay asked quietly, his voice soft.

"You died three times." Came the sophisticated accent of Chakwas as she stepped into the bay from the mess hall.

"Only three?" Jay replied cheekily, grinning at the Doctor.

"Yes, any more and I'll have had to have given up trying to resurrect you." Chakwas smirked, sitting down at her desk.

"What about the kids down there?" Jay suddenly asked, looking at Miranda. She smiled at him.

"Shepard called in the Alliance to get them all home. You did it Jay, you saved them." She grinned, sitting back down next to him. Jay inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders.

"That's good." He whispered, "Where're we headed next?"

"The Citadel." Came the unmistakable voice of Shepard as he stepped through the door.

"Commander." Both Miranda and Chakwas greeted, Jay just chuckled.

"Why go there?" He asked, looking curiously at his CO.

"Councillor Anderson wants to see me. Besides, we've got a recruit there too. Figured I'd give everyone a 48 hour shore leave." Shepard smiled, sitting down next to Miranda. Jay nodded slowly.

"Never had shore leave." He muttered, raising an eyebrow as he thought about it.

"Seriously?" John asked.

"Seriously. Spartans are military hardware, remember?" Jay dryly replied, trying to sit up.

"Young man, if you keep trying to do that, you're going to rip your stitches out." Chakwas warned as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"I'll be fine, besides, my legs have gone to sleep." Jay moaned, poking his thighs.

"Commander, if you don't tell him to stop moving, ripping his stitches is going to be the least of his worries." Chakwas warned, causing the Spartan to pause. John chuckled to his left.

"Fine." The Spartan muttered, falling onto his back in a playful huff.

"You're acting like a child." Miranda pointed out, raising an eyebrow as she looked upon the squirming super-soldier.

"I'm a Spartan. I'm not supposed to be cooped up in a med bay." Jay replied, slightly annoyed. "I hate being stuck in one place." He added, crossing his arms over his chest, frowning to himself.

"Well, for the next few hours at least, that's what's happening." Chakwas informed him, typing away at her terminal. Jay moaned.

"What happened to my armor by the way?" Jay asked after a moments silence. Miranda and Shepard looked between themselves for a moment.

"It's uh…" Miranda began, trying to find the right words.

"Scrap metal." John deadpanned, crossing his own arms over his chest as he folded his legs.

"Huh." Jay grunted, blinking a few times. "He really kicked my ass _that_ hard?" He asked, disbelievingly.

"You died three times, Jay." Miranda frowned at him, leaning on his bed with her good arm slightly.

"Eh. I've died before." He shrugged easily. "So, shore leave, right?" Jay asked, quickly changing the subject.

John nodded slowly, "Yeah. While I'm seeing the Councillor and dealing with our new recruit, I'm allowing everyone 48 hours shore leave." John smiled.

"Sounds good." Jay nodded slowly. He watched as John leaned forward in his seat.

"What're you going to do on the Citadel then?" He asked curiously.

"Dunno. Can't buy anything." Jay shrugged casually.

"Why?" Miranda asked, confused.

"Never been paid." Jay chuckled, pushing himself up into a comfier position. John and Miranda both had shocked expressions on their faces.

"Seriously?" John asked after a moment. Jay just nodded, as if the answer were obvious.

"So you don't own anything?" Miranda asked, "Not even your own clothes?"

"Alliance always provided everything Spartans needed." Jay smiled slightly, remembering his Spartans. There was silence for a few minutes as the three members of the ground team looked at each other.

"We're taking you shopping." John nodded finally, his voice leaving no room for argument. Jay nodded easily.

"Okay." He shrugged slightly.

"And I'll get an account set up in your name and have some funds transferred for after the mission's completed." Miranda added, standing up and leaving quickly. John and Jay both watched her leave. When Shepard turned around to look at Jay, he had a smirk on his face and one of his eyebrow was raised.

"What?" Jay asked, confused.

"What did you do to her down there?" John chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

"What do you mean?"

"She's not left the room since you both got back on board. Well, besides to shower and to eat, obviously." The Commander replied. "Something happen down there between you two?" He asked, amused.

"Dunno." Jay shrugged, "I walked in on her showering." He added after a moments thought.

"Oh?" John chuckled.

"Yeah. Apparently, people _not_ in the military don't shower with other people around. Who knew, right?" Jay asked, genuinely surprised.

"I'm honestly having trouble working out if you're being serious or not." Shepard said, still chuckling. Jay held his hands up.

"Honest." Jay chuckled, placing them back at his sides.

"Uh-huh. Alright, get some rest, soldier. We'll be arriving at the Citadel in a few hours." John nodded, smirking as he stood up.

"Yes sir." Jay muttered, closing his eyes.

* * *

Jay grunted slightly to himself as he walked along the Presidium on the Citadel. He hadn't long woken up, finding Shepard was currently in a meeting with the Council. He didn't mind, though he had a little company with him - it seemed the woman wouldn't leave his side for extended periods of time recently, not that he minded however. Miranda was always there on Elysium, offering her help once she knew what it meant to Jay. He was hoping he could pay her back some way soon.

What Jay loved about Miranda at the moment however, was the fact she'd made sure Shepard had gotten him new armor from the base. He'd briefly seen the remains of his old set and had had to repress a cringe. The entire upper half of his armor had been dented and warped beyond repair. From the force of the impacts he had suffered, he was lucky to be alive. Dan could've easily killed them.

He growled quietly in the back of his throat. The thought that one of his Spartans could become what Dan had… Jay just couldn't comprehend it. Back in training, Dan had been the one that was the most loyal to the Alliance and the programme. What had happened? Why had he abandoned his duty?

"Something wrong?" Miranda asked from his side, matching his heavy, armored footfalls with her own graceful ones as her heels clacked quietly beside them.

"Just thinking." Jay responded, shrugging. He paused, looking over the lake as civilians stopped and stared at the black and gold armored behemoth.

"Oh. Anything I can help with?" She asked quietly, resting a hand on her hip. Her attire was very much different from Jays. Miranda wore a casual white blouse and some black pants that clung to her long, shapely legs.

"Probably not." He sighed, quiet for a moment before he continued, "Just trying to work out why Dan did what he did."

Miranda was silent for a minute or two, "Maybe he couldn't stand the thought of the Alliance abandoning you all?" She asked thoughtfully. The words didn't hurt as much as Jay thought they would. He knew the Spartans were considered expendable, but the fact that so many were abandoned after so many exemplary years of success and service still stung.

They'd even abandoned him for 7 years, left to float through space on an abandoned Batarian ship he'd stolen from Elysium to enter cryo-stasis.

"Maybe. I'd like some answers though." He sighed again, feeling his muscles in his back loosen slightly. "They were my responsibility, after all."

"If I were in your shoes, so would I. I think anyone would." Miranda smiled kindly, resting her back against the railing next to the Spartan.

Jay made a grunting noise as he nodded slowly, still looking out along the lake. When he felt a regular tap on his leg armor however, he turned around slowly. He couldn't see anything that would have made the tap as he looked around.

"Mister?" A childlike voice squeaked from down by his knees. He looked down and saw a young human girl with bright green eyes looking up at him as she held onto her fluffy Varren toy. Jay knelt down slowly and did his best not to grunt in slight pain from his injuries, noticing Miranda's attempt to hide a snicker from behind him.

"You okay, kid?" He asked gently.

"Are you a robot?" She asked shyly, twirling her golden hair with her finger. The girl looked no older than six. Jay chuckled quietly.

"Nope. I'm human, just like you." He replied, gently poking her in the chest. She giggled again.

"Really?" She asked, chewing on her teddy's tail.

"Really." Jay smiled through his helmet. After a moment of thought, he reached up to his helmet, twisted it slightly to disconnect the seals and slowly lifted it off of his head. His injuries were mostly healed up now, thanks to his augmentations and the sheer amount of Medi-gel that had been applied to him. "See?" He asked, smiling.

"You're old." She giggled, fiddling with the hem of her dress her parents had picked out for her to wear today.

Jay chuckled as Miranda snickered behind him, "Am not." He replied, sticking his tongue out playfully at the little girl. He still remembered being her age, granted he didn't remember it very well.

"She's pretty." The girl whispered to Jay, rocking back and forth on her heels. Jay looked over his armored shoulder at the woman stood behind him, watching as she smiled kindly at the two of them.

"She is." He agreed quietly, standing up slowly as he placed his helmet back on his head. "Where's your parents?" He asked a little louder.

"Over there." She replied, pointing to a young couple who stood there smiling at their daughters antics. When they saw the Spartan looking at them, they waved awkwardly and grinned sheepishly. Jay chuckled to himself.

"C'mon, let's get you back to your parents." Jay snickered, sweeping the girl up and placing her on one of his shoulder as she giggled and laughed. Miranda stayed where they were.

A few moments later, they'd reached her parents and Jay lifted her down gently, much to the amusement of both the parents and the little girl. "That was fun!" She laughed, hugging the Spartans leg. Jay stiffened, unsure of what to do. He wasn't used to anything that had happened recently. In his past experience, children were always running in fear because he looked scary. This little girl seemed to be the exception.

"I - uh…" Jay tried, still looking awkwardly at the young girl. She looked up at him and grinned innocently.

"Sorry about our daughter." The father spoke up, offering Jay his hand to shake.

"No problem. It's a nice change." Jay shrugged, accepting the mans hand.

"I'm Jack. This is my wife Jenny and our daughter, Sarah." He smiled. Jay nodded at the wife.

"I'm… Gunnery Chief Jay-049." He replied after a moment. He looked back down at the leg that still had a child wrapped around it. Jack chuckled and pried her away from Jay.

"C'mon Sarah. Let's leave the nice man alone, okay?" He chuckled. Jay smiled behind his helmet.

"It was a pleasure, sir. Ma'am." Jay smiled, "Take care." He added, stepping back from the family and over towards where Miranda was stood grinning at him. He hadn't lied to the girl when he admitted Miranda was attractive - stunningly so. Jay may have been a Spartan all of his life, but he still had a pulse.

"Looks like you have a fan." Miranda smirked, placing her hands into her pockets easily. Jay shrugged awkwardly, causing another grin to sprout on Miranda's face.

"Don't we need to find Shepard?" He asked after a moment, groaning slightly. She chuckled and nodded, enjoying the larger man's discomfort.

* * *

"-if Udina was to join us." Councillor Tevos spoke up, her hologram flickering slightly.

"My advisor is unavailable. As Councillor, I represent the voice of humanity and the Alliance." Anderson replied, his dark skin showing the tell-tale signs of age and stress. He pushed off the balcony and turned to look at the Councillors. "Shepard will be here any - oh, Commander, we were just talking about you." He smiled, looking at his protégé.

"It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple of years have treated you right." Shepard smiled, shaking the mans hand. Garrus and Grunt backed off towards the far wall of the room, the Turian giving a respectful nod towards the human Councillor.

"There's been some rough spots. It's good to have you back." Anderson smiled.

"We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are… unsettling." The Salarian representative - Valern - spoke up.

"We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard. We owe you that much. After all, you did save our lives in the battle against Saren and his Geth." Tevos added. Shepard sighed.

"Saren wasn't the one commanding the Geth. It was the Reaper, Sovereign." He replied tiredly.

"Ah yes! Reapers." Sparatus mocked, even going so far as to use air quotes, "The immortal star ships allegedly hiding out in dark space. We have dismissed that claim." He added, throwing an arm up in the air.

"Shepard, nobody else encountered the hologram on Ilos that told you about the Reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke to Sovereign." Anderson added sadly. "I believe you, but without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the Geth attacks."

"Just look at the evidence that Sovereign left behind! It's obvious that the technology is far more advanced than our own. Besides, the Geth would never follow Saren. He was an organic." Shepard pointed out.

Sparatus was the first to speak up, "The fact that you continue believing in something that isn't real just goes to prove how fragile your mental state truly is."

"We have no evidence to show us that the Reapers truly exist." Valern added, somewhat kindly.

"We believe that you believe it, Commander. It doesn't make it true however." Tevos finished.

"I kept Saren from conquering the Citadel. I sacrificed human lives to save this Council." Shepard growled, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

"We are in a difficult position, Shepard. You are working for Cerberus - an avowed enemy of this Council. This is treason, a capital offence." Tevos pointed out, calmly.

"That's too far! Shepard is a hero. I'm on this Council too and I won't allow this whitewash to continue." Anderson spoke up, his voice laced with warning.

"Maybe there is a compromise. Not a public acknowledgement, given your ties, but something to show peripheral support." Tevos suggested quickly, looking at her other two Councillors.

"Shepard, if you keep a low profile and keep your operations in the Terminus systems, this Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre." Sparatus offered, folding his arms behind his back.

Shepard paused, looking over towards Anderson and then over towards Garrus. Both of them nodded. "I accept your offer. It's good to have the Council on my side." Shepard replied, a slight tinge of sarcasm only evident in his voice if one were listening for it.

In the moment of silence that followed, Shepard turned towards the door when he heard it open, permitting Jay into the room. He was a little amused by the fact Miranda was with him.

"Good luck with your investigation Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution… and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus." Tevos nodded, quickly ending the call.

"Well, that went better than expected." Anderson sighed, walking back over towards the balcony where Shepard and the others joined him - Jay and Miranda included. "You realise the Councils offer is symbolic, they won't actually do anything." Anderson pointed out.

Shepard nodded sadly, "Even if they don't help, I may as well stay on good terms."

"True enough. Don't worry about the Council or the Alliance. I'll keep them off your back." Anderson smiled, finally noticing the group gathered around Shepard. "And, if you don't mind me asking, who are your friends?" Anderson smirked.

"Ah. This here is Grunt. He's pure Krogan. You already know Garrus…" Shepard paused for a moment, wincing internally. "This is Miranda Lawson, a Cerberus Operative… and finally we have Gunnery Chief, Spartan 049. Jay."

Anderson had nodded and smiled at each of the crew members as Shepard listed them off, though he paused at Jay. "A Spartan? I thought you were all dead."

"Spartans never die, sir." Jay saluted, causing Anderson to chuckle.

"At ease, son. I'm not military any more."

"Yes, sir." Jay replied, dropping his hand.

"How'd you find yourself a Spartan, Shepard?" Anderson asked after a moment of silence. Shepard shrugged.

"Cerberus had him hooked up in a lab unconscious. I recruited him. Can't wait to see what Garrus says when he see's what he can do in the field." Shepard smirked at the Turian.

"Sorry I wasn't paying attention, Shepard. I was too busy catching missiles with my face." Garrus shrugged, causing the group - apart from Grunt - to chuckle quietly.

"Sir, I have to ask… Were there any other survivors from Elysium?" Jay asked after the laughter had died down.

"I'm sorry son, not that I'm aware of. If I remember correctly, the search was called off." Anderson replied, sympathy showing in every way possible.

"It's okay, sir. They died doing their duty. They'd have had it no other way." Jay nodded after a moment. The Spartan stepped off the balcony and instead walked over towards the far wall and began staring at the pictures hanging there. The door opened a few seconds later.

"Anderson, we need to talk about - Shepard, what are you doing here?" Udina demanded, stepping into the room.

"Udina." Shepard nodded reluctantly.

"I invited Shepard here to speak with the Council. We just finished the meeting." Anderson pointed out, folding his arms over his chest.

"You what? Councillor, do the words political shit-storm mean anything to you?" Udina asked, shocked.

Jay chuckled from behind Udina, "Apparently not."

Udina spun around, eyeing the Spartan, "What the hell is a Spartan doing in your office, Anderson? All the freaks are supposed to be dead." Udina demanded.

The thud of Udina smacking into the wall stunned everyone besides the Spartan holding him there by his throat. A few seconds later, Shepard and the others had their guns out and pointed at the Spartan, though Miranda's wasn't actually raised.

"Jay… drop the asshole." Shepard spoke gently, his Avenger still had the safety on.

"Sorry Shepard, but not until he apologises." Jay replied, his visor staring blankly at the whimpering man.

"Jay, scaring him shitless won't do yourself or your Spartans any favours." Shepard pointed out fairly.

"Worked fine in the past." Jay deadpanned, his head tilting slightly to the left.

"You don't have the Alliance to protect you anymore, Jay. If you hurt him, I can't protect you, son." Anderson warned, also trying to diffuse the situation.

"I say kill him." Grunt chortled. "More fun."

"Not helping, Grunt." Garrus groaned.

"I'm not killing him." Jay replied, still not looking at the group.

"Jay… drop him. He doesn't know what you gave up. What you sacrificed." Miranda finally pleaded, her pistol back in a concealed position. There was a silence in the room that was deafening. Slowly, the Spartans head turned slowly to look at the woman. "He's not worth it." Miranda finally added.

With a sigh, Jay dropped the older man, who scampered back towards the door. He paused slightly and looked at the Spartan as if he had two heads. Jay looked over at him.

"Boo." Jay grunted, causing the man to startle and practically sprint out of the door.

Anderson sighed, folding his arms over his still strong chest, "Wish I could put the fear of God in him like that."

Shepard approached the Spartan slowly, his own weapon away now. "Head back to the _Normandy_. Go cool off." Shepard ordered, patting him gently on the arm. Jay was silent a moment before he replied in an almost whisper.

"Yes sir."

* * *

"_Move, move, move!" Jay yelled, pulling a Spartan to his feet as they ran and leapt over debris._

"_We need some cover! We're sitting ducks out here!" Dan yelled out, sliding under a column of collapsed concrete. He paused for a second, tossing a grenade over his shoulder. "Frag out!" A few seconds later, the dull thump of the detonation was followed by the unmistakable screams of agony of several Batarians._

"_Into the sewer! Now! Move it people!" Jay ordered, pausing at a manhole, bringing his rifle up as he fired down range. Several Spartans began running over towards his position, ducking and weaving through the gunfire. It all happened in slow motion for Jay. One moment they were running over towards him, the next they'd disappeared completely when a missile detonated at their feet._

"_No!" He screamed, watching as more of his squad members flat-lined on his HUD._

"_Jay! We've got to move, now!" Dan yelled, the only other surviving Spartan. Jay was silent for a moment, the sounds of war quickly fading into the background noise of the universe. His team was dead. There was only him and Dan left now. How had all of this gone so terribly wrong?_

_**This place will become your home. **_

_**This place will become your tomb.**_

_Jay was scared. Truly scared. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he watched Batarians begin to slowly advance on the final two men still fighting against them in the area._

"_Jay! Get down, now!" Dan screamed, snapping Jay back into reality. In one fluid movement, all of Jay's prior combat experience and training kicked in. His rifle snapped up, spitting bullets into Batarians as he picked them off, standing defiantly out of cover so as to draw the attention away from Dan._

"_Dan, into the sewer, now soldier!" Jay yelled over the gunfire, ducking as a missile arched over his head. Briefly glancing at his radar in his HUD, he watched as the yellow dot that represented Dan sprinted over to his position before dropping below ground._

_Jay remained above ground for a few more moments, finger still hammered down on the trigger, not caring what he hit at this point. "Jay, get inside, now! Unless you want to join Sam and Lisa!" Dan ordered over the comm. system built into their suits._

_With an angry grunt, Jay took two steps back and dropped down the man hole just as a missile impacted the ground in front of him. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke._

"Jay?" Someone's voice asked, "You okay?"

Jay grunted, his hands holding his chin up slightly as he stared ahead to the other side of the room where his helmet was blankly returning his stare.

"Answer me, dammit." The voice chimed in again, though this time it became deeper and more masculine, yet tinged with the unmistakable flanges of a Turian.

"I'm fine, Garrus." Jay sighed, straightening up and wiping a hand down his face. Though for no lack of trying, he couldn't tear his eyes from his helmet.

"Don't bullshit me, Jay. I know the moody, 'I lost someone' look. Hell, I've even mastered it." The Turian snorted, sitting down next to the large human.

"Just thinking." Jay shrugged, standing up and walking over to where he'd thrown the helmet earlier. They were back on the ship now, and Jay was out of his armor - though for some reason, he'd not put his helmet away when the machine had been working on him. Granted he was still a little sore from all the injuries he'd received on Elysium, but that shouldn't have been enough to just _forget_ about his equipment.

"Can I ask what about?" Garrus queried, leaning back against the wall of the small prefab.

"Elysium." Cam the quiet response.

"Ah. First or second time?"

"First."

"Damn. I heard about the action that was down there. Couldn't believe it when I first heard about the attack. Shepard said something about you losing your team there, right?" Garrus asked.

Jay just nodded numbly. He hadn't had much time to think about them since he'd woken up. He'd always been in the middle of the action, or getting his ass kicked by Dan. But now he was on shore leave, he had nothing to do to occupy his mind. He could work out, sure. But the training equipment on the ship wasn't Spartan equipment. There was no challenge in it - no drive to improve himself.

"I lost my team too. On Omega, though I figure you already knew that." Garrus offered, sitting forward.

"Pretty much." Jay shrugged, sitting back down on the cot next to Garrus, his helmet in his hands.

"You know I have no idea what it was like to lose a team like yours, but… I can sympathise. Shepard can too." Garrus pointed out, noticing the Spartan's reluctance to talk. After a few quiet moments, Garrus stood up quietly and awkwardly patted the grieving man on the shoulder as he walked out.

Elysium. That one word was enough to trigger so many memories of a life that felt centuries old. Along with the memories were the emotions that came with them. Granted, most of them were pain and sadness. Anger too. But with everything he'd gone through, there was still the happy memories from training. Like the time Dan rigged the flares in the instructors barracks to go off at midnight. Or even the time he was selected to lead the Spartans.

He smiled ruefully to himself, remembering the smiles, the chuckles, the smirks. And of course, _her._ If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be alive today. Or at least, not where he was - making a difference. He sighed. He owed her so much. Did she know? Did she know he was even alive? Did she know he'd made it off Elysium? Did she even make it off herself?

"EDI." Jay called out, watching as the AI materialised on her pedestal.

"Yes, Jay?" She asked kindly.

"Send an encrypted message to a Doctor Catherine Halsey."

"And what would you like the message to contain, Jay?" EDI asked, politely.

"This," Jay said, quickly whistling a short, six note tune.

"Sending message now." EDI replied, her holographic form blinking slightly.

"That's all EDI, thanks." Jay smiled.

"Signing you out, Jay." EDI responded, blinking out of existence.

The room was silent a moment, with Jay still staring at the helmet he held in his hands. For all intents and purposes, it was the exact same as his previous one - but it felt… different. With a quick sigh, he stood up slowly, holding his helmet in his right hand as he moved towards the elevator.

After a moment of waiting, the door to the lift opened up, thankfully revealing no occupants. He quickly stepped into the small confines of the left and quickly punched the number of the deck he wanted to go to. It had been a while - at least to him, since he'd been there, and who knew, maybe it was a good thing he was heading there - despite the scuttlebutt he'd already heard. He chuckled to himself, thinking about it. It was ridiculous!

The doors opened with a ping and he stepped out, immediately heading right - straight for the XO quarters. A gentle knock on the door later and he was being permitted entrance.

"Miranda." Jay nodded, smiling.

"Jay." She smiled back. He'd noticed she was smiling more recently. Even on Elysium. "Can I help you?" She asked, typing away at her terminal.

"Nah. Just came to talk. I can go if you're busy though?" He offered, pointing over his shoulder towards the door with his free thumb.

"Don't be stupid. I'm just finishing up these reports to the Illusive Man anyway." She shrugged, standing up and taking a seat by one of the chairs by her window. "Sit." She ordered, albeit with a smile.

"Yes ma'am." He chuckled, gently lowering himself into the chair.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap. He shrugged. "So you came here to talk, and you didn't have a subject in mind?" She asked, amused.

"I - uh…" Jay mumbled, at a loss for words.

"It's okay." She chuckled, her shoulders shaking slightly. "Why do you have your helmet with you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she finally took in the piece of armor.

With a shrug, Jay replied, "Dunno. I was looking at it earlier when Garrus stopped by. Guess I never put it down…" He paused for a moment, seemingly thinking to himself about something. After a moment he tossed it over to her, the brunette catching it easily with her biotics. "Put it on if you want." He shrugged, watching her eyes go wide in surprise.

"Are you sure? I mean, this is highly classified Alliance equipment…" She began, though the look Jay was giving her effectively halted that train of thought. Slowly, she placed the helmet on her head, watching as the HUD flickered to life. "The helmet has it's own power supply?" She asked, shocked.

"All the pieces of the armor can run separately. Just incase the power supply is damaged in combat." Jay smiled, watching as she looked around.

"This is amazing…" She breathed, watching as the HUD highlighted Jay and his IFF. "You have an IFF outside of your armor?" Miranda asked, confused.

"My neural lace." He said, twisting in his seat so Miranda could spot a slight scar on the back of his head where his skull met his spine. "It allows me to physically link with the suit. Hence the reaction times." He grinned, his teeth glowing a brilliant white in the slightly darkened room.

"It's beyond anything I've ever used before. I can understand why you like your armor so much." Miranda chuckled, holding a hand before the faceplate, watching as that too was brought up by the HUD.

"Play with it for a while if you want. It's a fresh piece of equipment, so it's not got anything in the combat logs yet." He smiled again, watching as Miranda reluctantly pulled it off her head.

"Thank you." She smiled. A genuine smile, Jay noted.

"It's nothing. Least I could do, after Elysium." He shrugged, looking at her.

"Jay, you don't owe me anything." Miranda frowned, crossing her legs again.

"On the contrary, I owe you my life." The Spartan pointed out, folding arms over his chest and leaning back in the chair. Miranda snorted.

"We're not in the middle ages, Jay. We're team-mates. Not to mention we're each others superior."

"We're more than that, you know." Jay smiled, "Well, if you want to be, I mean." He added, his smile disappearing as a brief sense of panic settled in.

"Oh?" Miranda asked, repressing the urge to chuckle at the Spartans awkwardness.

"Yeah. I figured we're friends, right?" He asked, a slight red tinge in his cheeks.

"I… don't think I've ever had a friend." Miranda replied, shocked. Her jaw worked for a few moments, though no other sounds left it. She frowned slightly.

"Me neither. Well, outside the Spartans. Shepard seems alright. Garrus and Zaeed too." Jay smiled back.

"Okay… friends." Miranda nodded.

"Friends." Jay nodded back, smiling. His smile faltered after a moment though. "How's the arm? I forgot to ask when we were out."

"Oh, it's fine. You were out for a few days, so it's near enough healed now." She shrugged. Jay continued to frown however. "There's nothing you could've done to prevent it." Miranda added, her own frown on her face.

"Maybe. Anyway, let's change the topic, I'd rather not go back down that particular road." Jay said, shaking his head slightly.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" Miranda asked.

"What about you?" He asked suddenly. Miranda was silent for a few moments, thinking back to the video log she saw of Jay preparing for the augmentations.

"That's fair, I suppose. Do you remember when I said I was genetically altered?" She asked, when Jay nodded she continued, "Well, that wasn't my choice. My Father… created me. He's a very influential man and extremely controlling."

"He… created you?" Jay asked, confused.

"In a test tube." Miranda shrugged. Jay just sat there, his mouth hanging open.

"I… wow." Jay blinked.

"He never let me forget it either. He didn't want a daughter. He wanted something that would continue his dynasty."

"Damn." The Spartan breathed, wiping a hand down his face.

"I ran away as soon as I was old enough and Cerberus took me in." She shrugged.

"Is that why you're so loyal to them?" Jay asked. He was leaning forward in his seat now - they both were. Miranda nodded slowly, though when she came out of her thoughts, he breath hitched for a moment. The two of them were close. Very close.

"They took me in when I had nowhere else to go. It's ironic really. My Father believed in a human positive agenda and donated generously to Cerberus. Before I ran, that is." She replied quietly.

Jay continued sitting there, oblivious to the close proximity of their faces. He was thinking, though he had noticed the change in Miranda's breathing a few moments ago. "Did he ever try to come after you?" He asked after another moment of thinking.

"Probably, though Cerberus no doubt put a stop to it before he got too close. After all, Cerberus fully endorses anything that advances the human race. Genetic alterations included." Jay leaned back in his seat, arms folded over his chest and his legs crossed under the table.

"Y'know, you sound like you think of yourself as a tool. What'd I say to you last time I came here, hmm?" He asked, amused.

"That it's what I do that defines me." Miranda deadpanned, raising her eyebrow again and smirking.

"Damn straight. Now, I believe-" Jay began, though he was interrupted by Shepards voice over the intercom.

"_Ground team, report to briefing room. Repeat, ground team to briefing room."_

"I guess shore leave is over. Let's just hope the new recruit Shepard picked up is worth it." Miranda sighed, pushing herself up from her seat as she handed Jay his helmet. The two of them jogged out of Miranda's office together.


	7. Chapter 7

\- CHAPTER 7

By the time Jay and Miranda arrived at the briefing room, the rest of the squad had already arrived. As the two entered the room, all eyes were on them. Shepard spoke up first after clearing his throat as he stood furthest towards the back of the room facing the door.

"Glad you two could make it. Let's begin." He nodded, pressing a button on the table that brought up a holographic representation of what appeared to be a rural planet.

"What's this?" Grunt asked from off to the side, his arms crossed over his powerful chest.

"Glad you asked Grunt. This is Horizon, an Alliance colony. It went dark a few hours ago and we suspect the Collectors have something to do with it. Mordin, do you have the countermeasure ready?" Shepard asked, turning his head to look at the aging Salarian.

Mordin was silent a few moments as he looked at everyone around the room, "Yes." He nodded before he continued, "Managed to miniaturise into a small capsule that can be added to armor." Sighs of relief could be heard throughout the room.

"So what's the plan of attack, sir?" Jay asked, leaning forward on the table as he studied the zoomed in area of where they'd be landing.

"Simple. Everyone stick together. We don't know what we'll be facing, so until we know we can't afford to split." Shepard shrugged, "I do however want the biotics at the rear of the group providing support." He added.

"Sounds like a plan, Shepard." Garrus piped in, nodding as well.

"This means I'm stuck with the Cheerleader? Fuck, Shepard." Jack grouched for the first time. Miranda just glared back at her.

After a few more minutes, the squad began to file out of the room to prepare their weapons and armor. Despite all the movement, Jay stood completely still, his eyes scanning the holographic image with an intensity that he hadn't had since Elysium.

"Jay?" Miranda asked, watching as the Spartan snapped out of whatever he was in. He smiled as he looked to his side where Miranda was leaning against the table.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning his eyes back to the image. He sighed a little bit.

"What's bothering you?" She asked, a slight frown marring her otherwise genetically perfect features.

"Nothing." Jay dismissed with a wave of his hand. A quiet snort from his side telling him that Miranda wasn't buying it. He sighed, "Alright. You see this area here?" He asked, highlighting the specific section.

"The open courtyard? What about it?" She asked, confused.

"If we're not careful, that could become a kill-box. We've got no idea on troop deployments, weapons or technology being implemented. Hell, we may not even be able to make it that far." He finished, pushing back off the table and wiping a tired hand down his face.

"Oh please, give yourself and Shepard some credit. Shepard's got a reputation for doing the impossible and you're a Spartan for God's sake!" Miranda replied, lightly swatting the Spartans chest with the back of her hand.

"Won't mean anything if we get over-run. Or surrounded." Jay pointed out, frowning. Miranda frowned at the pessimism being displayed. She was silent for a moment before a small smirk began to tug at the corner of her mouth.

"Spartan! Attention!" She shouted in the best imitation of a drill instructor she could manage. She had to physically grip the table to stop herself from falling into a fit of laughter when Jay snapped to attention on reflex. Jay snapped out of it after a couple of seconds though.

"Why you-" He began before he noticed Miranda laughing. Miranda was chuckling quietly to herself as she swatted his chest again.

"That's what you get for being so pessimistic. Now come on, we still need to get our gear." She ordered, leading the way out of the briefing room and turning left the moment they were out of the door.

* * *

As the door whooshed open, Jay stepped past her and quickly picked up a dented and lightly warped Vindicator. "What happened to my gun?" He asked, incredulously.

"I'm assuming when you were thrown through the wall, that the wall won." Miranda replied dryly, picking up a sub-machine gun and a pistol.

"I liked this gun." Jay muttered, noticing the bent barrel. Nothing about the gun would be salvageable.

"It's just a gun, Jay. I heard Jacob managed to get a shipment of some rifle while we were on the Citadel." Miranda shrugged, pulling her armor out of her locker.

"Assault rifles?" He asked, pulling out a crate from beneath the workbench. Miranda just shrugged. With a slight grunt, the lid popped off of the stubborn packaging and gave the Spartan a sight he thought he'd never see again.

"What? You need a bucket, Jay?" Miranda asked, raising an eyebrow as she began pulling on her armor.

"I haven't seen these since training. There is nothing better in the medium to long range department than a Mattock." Jay sighed happily. Miranda rolled her eyes at the Spartans antics.

"Looks like you've found your new gun then." She smirked, watching as Jay grinned ear to ear. He looked like an oversized child. As she finished pulling on her armor, Jay pushed the crate back to where he'd found it and stood up, new rifle in hand. He paused for a moment, looking over his shoulder towards the back of the room.

"Did my sniper survive the wall?" He asked, curiously. Miranda nodded, much to the Spartans delight. He began to wander over towards his locker. The locker opened easily enough, and sat there was his Incisor.

"C'mon, we're going to be late." Miranda groaned, picking up the Spartans helmet. She paused upon reaching him as she looked around the bay. She looked back up to Jay, noticing his confused expression before standing on her toes and lightly kissing his cheek. When she stepped back, she smiled slightly at the stunned expression on the man before her.

"W-what was that for?" He asked, confused. His cheeks flushing a light pink.

"To make sure you come back." Miranda replied, raising an eyebrow. Jay just nodded enthusiastically as they walked towards the elevator so Jay could get his armor - he'd apparently lost the capacity to speak.

* * *

As the shuttle came in for a landing, the bay door on the side of the shuttle popped open, providing the entire ground team a glimpse of what the settlement had become. Off in the distance, hovering somewhere over the far side of the settlement in a vertical position was the gargantuan Collector vessel. All around it lightning boiled away in the clouds.

"Well… shit." Jay muttered, his breath taken from him as he stared up at the ship.

"Took the words outta' my mouth, kid." Zaeed agreed quietly. One by one the crew hopped out of the safety of the shuttle and pulled their weapons out.

"Alright, keep a steady spread. Heads on a swivel people." Shepard ordered, seemingly more focused than ever. Jay glanced over his shoulder and looked at the members of the ground team that would fall under his command usually. Kasumi was using a Tempest sub-machine gun, Jack was using a Predator pistol, Mordin was the same and Miranda was using the same as Kasumi.

Jay pulled his Mattock off his back slowly as they began walking forwards. He looked down and checked the scope for a moment, slightly adjusting it for a medium to close range fire-fight. When he looked up he took in their surroundings - they were approaching a silent play ground. Despite being a Spartan and all of his years of training, he could stop the anger that was slowly forming in his stomach. He prayed to whatever deity there was that they'd bump into a Collector soon.

"This isn't right." Kasumi whispered as they made their way past a couple of empty swings, creaking in the silent wind.

"Where are they?" Miranda asked just as quietly. Jay briefly glanced her way with his eyes, a small grin on his lips. She'd kissed him on the cheek. He'd never been smiled at outside of the Spartan training programme and his fellow Spartans before this mission. He knew he was changing - he was becoming less of what he was expected to be, and more of what he wanted to be.

"Seeker swarm!" Shepard called out, raising his weapon incase they attacked them. When the swarm flew past them, seemingly ignoring them, the squad moved on.

"Ah. Good! Countermeasure works." Mordin sighed in relief. Jay smiled quietly to himself within the confines of his armor. The way Mordin spoke always amused him.

"Why haven't they attacked yet? They must know we-" Miranda began, only to have weapons fire pepper the ground before her feet. She quickly dove to the side, thankful they'd entered a section of the settlement that seemed to be under construction as boxes and crates littered the area.

"You jinxed us!" Jay shouted over a quick double tap of his Mattock before dropping back behind a crate. Miranda shot him a glare to which the Spartan just shrugged.

"Grunt, draw their fire!" Shepard ordered, swinging around his own box and quickly punching a Collector that had tried sneaking up on him.

Grunt simply nodded and began charging various Collectors, all the while blasting them with his shotgun.

Jay hopped over his cover, his weapon constantly barking out shots. He spotted a Collector flanking Jack and quickly sent a few shots it's way. When the Collector slumped to the ground, the biotic spun around and looked like she was about to shout something before she thought better of it. She simply nodded in return.

"Shepard, if we hold out here much longer we could get over-run!" Jay yelled over the gunfire. He was about to drop into cover when a beam slammed into his chest, knocking him to the floor. He groaned, glad it hadn't breached his armor. A quick glance at his HUD however showed his shields almost completely drained.

"Garrus! Take out the one with the beam!" Jay quickly ordered, crawling behind the cover of a few crates. After a few seconds, the retort of a sniper rifle echoed.

"Scoped and dropped!" Garrus cheered, laughing slightly.

Jay stood up slowly, his shields recharged as he began dropping a few more Collectors. He spotted Miranda off to his right pinned down by a pair of their enemies. He was maybe a two second sprint from them. Quickly pushing off the ground with his back foot, he charged the two of them, the distinct snapping of their necks from the impact was all it took for Jay to stop on the spot and begin returning fire to the other four Collectors that were left.

A few seconds later and all gunfire had ceased. Jay turned around to where Miranda was glaring at him. He stared back silently. "You're still grinning, aren't you?" She sighed after a moment.

"Why Ms Lawson, I have no idea what you mean." He grinned, shouldering his rifle and sauntering up to the others. He heard a quiet snort behind him and allowed himself a quiet chuckle.

"Damn Tins, nice charge." Jack nodded, folding her arms over her chest. Jay nodded back.

"It's what I do." He shrugged, easily.

"Alright, let's move further into the settlement. Keep an eye out for ammo." Shepard ordered, moving off into the settlement, quickly followed by the rest of the team.

* * *

"Hold up, I see movement." Shepard whispered, dropping to a knee. The squad peered around the corner silently, watching as Collectors moved colonists into the pods that were scattered around the area. They'd made it about two miles into the settlement with a few very brief fire-fights along the way. Luckily, it seemed these didn't have any clue they were there.

"Few well placed sniper shots would take these out." Jay thought aloud, looking at Garrus and Zaeed briefly. He glanced back to Shepard to see him nodding.

"Get into position. Soon as the first shot is taken, weapons free." John added, pulling his Avenger from his back.

"Garrus, Zaeed you've got a few good angles from down here. I'll go up top." Jay suggested, earning professional nods in return. Jay stood up silently, pulling his sniper from his back as it folded out into his arms. He took a few steps back, so as not to alert the Collectors before the thrusters on the back of his armor sprung out and lifted him to the top of the prefab they were hiding behind.

When he was up top, he quickly dropped to his stomach and nodded to himself as he saw the targets of opportunity as they highlighted themselves on his HUD.

He was about to line up a shot when his screen flickered, briefly cutting out.

"_Jay, what's the hold-up?"_ Shepards voice asked in his earpiece. Jay shook his head for a moment as the effect seemed to wear off.

"Nothing sir. That lightning cloud up top seems to be messing with a few things in my suit is all. I'll get Mordin to check it out after the mission." He quickly replied, focusing in on a Collector that appeared to be on fire and giving out orders.

The crack of his sniper was quickly followed by silence before everyone else's weapons were spitting bullets into the half dozen Collectors that were looking for where the shot came from. When the Collector he'd shot looked back at him, a hole in it's head, Jay knew he was in trouble.

"Oh shit." He swore, rolling to the side just as a biotic attack hit where he'd been lying. Jay wasted no time in firing another two shots in quick succession. Finally with half of it's head blown off, the Collector dropped to the floor before becoming ash. The whole engagement had lasted maybe ten seconds at most so Jay stood up, looking down at the squad below him.

"I'll stay up top, provide cover fire." Jay called down to them, receiving a thumbs up from Shepard. Jay was about to begin making his way alongside the squad when he spotted movement in the alleyway out of the small courtyard they appeared to be in. Bringing his sniper up on instinct, he fired a shot and felt a small amount of satisfaction at seeing the shadow slump the ground.

Below, the squad had spun around, weapons drawn but found nothing. Shepard began walking forward first, flanked by Grunt and Jacob. They spread out, looking for any signs of an enemy contact.

After a few moments, Jacob called out, "Shepard, I've got something!" The entire squad - minus Jay - quickly approached the corpse.

"Isn't that a Husk?" Garrus asked, shocked - having dealt with hundreds of them in the hunt for Saren two years prior.

"Yeah." Shepard sighed, obviously displeased. "At least we know the Collectors are working with the Reapers now."

"It looks human." Kasumi noted, kneeling down and prodding it with her gun.

"That's because it was human." Miranda sighed, rubbing a hand down her face.

"Poor bastard. Cracking shot though." Zaeed grunted, nodding slightly in appreciation. Miranda fixed him with a glare. "What? I'm complimenting' the kid!" He defended.

"Nevertheless, do you really think now is the best time for that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"_Yes."_ Jay chimed in over the comm., causing a few chuckles to bubble up among the group. Miranda sighed and glared at the Spartan still standing on top of a prefab as he gave a cheeky wave. Miranda spun back around instantly - though she still felt a little bad.

"Alright, let's keep going. If you see one of these, don't let it get close. Couple of rounds should drop them." Shepard spoke up, seeing a round of nods.

A few minutes and another half dozen Collectors later, the entire squad - Jay included - were stood at the bottom of a ramp. Jay had dropped down from his position in the previous fire-fight when a Collector biotic had thrown an attack off at Jay. The Spartan was still annoyed he'd been spotted.

"-had better cover, it wouldn't have happened." Jay grumbled to Garrus who was stood there doing his best not to laugh.

"Of course Jay. Whatever you say." He chuckled, earning a silent glare from the armored human. "Can you not give me that stare? It's rather creepy." The Turian muttered, stepping back a step or two.

"Good." Jay nodded, stepping past Shepard as the Spartan looked over his shoulder at his CO. "I assume you want me to take point?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Thought you'd never get the hint." Shepard grinned, patting the larger man on the back, earning an amused snort.

"Your reluctance for me to get shot at is duly noted, _sir_." Jay replied, giving him the finger as he began making his way up the ramp-like walkway that would lead into another section of the settlement. Jay walked up slowly, his Mattock always in the ideal position should a Collector suddenly spring into view.

Upon reaching the top however, Jay paused at what he saw. "So this is what the swarms do? No wonder the colonists never put up a fight." He noted as the rest of the squad saw what he was looking at. A colonist was frozen solid in what appeared to be a variant of the stasis effect some biotics liked to use.

"Can they hear us?" Jacob asked, looking the unfortunate soul. When the colonist blinked, Jay leaned down.

"Blink twice if you can hear us." He asked, receiving a double blink in response. "Okay, we're going to get you out of here. Don't worry." Jay comforted, patting the young man on the shoulder as he walked past him. They walked through the empty prefab only to come across another courtyard, where Collectors suddenly seemed to swarm towards.

"Scatter!" Shepard yelled, watching as everyone either dived or skidded behind something solid.

"Oh shit!" Jay yelled out before he was blasted away from his cover, his armor smoking slightly as his shields overloaded and were venting the heat before they recycled.

"What hit you?" Miranda asked from where she'd been in cover next to him.

"The one that's on fucking fire!" Jay called back, crawling behind something as another attack stuck where he'd been only moments before.

"I see him!" Garrus called out, sending a shot from his Viper down range.

"He's still standing!" Kasumi called out, ducking as fire peppered her cover. She swore as some of her cover was whittled away.

"Someone distract him so Grunt can charge him!" Shepard ordered, watching as Jay stood back up.

"Well, he seems to have an obsession with me so I guess that's my cue." He sighed, swinging out of cover and firing a few shots into the flaming Collector.

"**I am the Harbinger of your salvation.**" A deep, emotionless voice spoke up from the direction of the Collector.

"Was that what I think it was?" Garrus asked, dropping into cover next to Shepard. Shepard nodded mutely, swinging around the corner and dropping another Collector.

"A Reaper. They must be controlling them." He grunted, feeling a shot connect with his shields over his shoulder.

"Perfect. Just perfect." Garrus sighed, ducking his head as the Collectors diverted more attention towards them.

"Jay, what are you doing?" Shepard called out. When he heard nothing in response, Shepard chanced a glance out of cover to see the Spartan pinned down. The good news however was that Jay was stood over the burning remains of the Reaper controlled Collector.

"Trying not to die! Shields are recharging!" Came the eventual response.

"Jack, see if you can help Jay get back over here!" Shepard ordered, watching as the biotic sent a shockwave over to a group of Collectors, sending them flying. The Spartan jogged back to the group and let out an audible sigh.

"Next time, you're the distraction Shepard." Jay groaned, rolling his right shoulder for a moment before seemingly shaking it off. Shepard nodded, amused at the Spartan knowing he hadn't meant a word of it. For saying how recently they'd met, the two of them seemed to fit together just as well as he and Garrus.

"Alright, I spot a door over on the far side of the courtyard. Kasumi, you're on hacking duty. Everyone else, find some cover and prepare to shoot your way in if you have to." Shepard called out, becoming serious again. As Kasumi darted over towards the door, everyone began taking positions and reloading.

"Anyone got a couple of spare clips?" Zaeed called out, receiving a few tossed to his feet from the Spartan next to him.

"Must be getting less accurate in your old age." Jay quipped, looking down the scope of his Mattock.

"Cheeky bastard." Zaeed grumbled, sighting down his own Avenger, a slight smirk on his face.

"Got it!" Kasumi called out, quickly darting out of the line of fire as the large door opened. Slowly, the squad began advancing, each and everyone one of them checking any potential hiding places for any Collectors or Husks.

"All clear so far." Jay whispered into his comm. He received nods from a few other squad members as they began to advance through the small building, weapons still up at their shoulders.

Miranda was the final one to step into the room, the door shutting with a hiss behind her. As it became less visible, everyone turned on their flashlights to allow some extra vision. With the sheer number of flashlights in the room, it was almost as if the door was still open.

Jay stepped around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, glancing around as his weapon swept for any contacts. He took a few steps forward, Shepard stepping up next to him. The clatter of something falling onto the floor a little further into the room echoed like someone had just struck a gong.

"Company." Shepard drawled, rolling his eyes as he pulled out his pistol, "Get out here. Now!" He ordered, aiming at a few boxes on the far side of the room. A timid looking middle aged man stepped out with his arms in the air. Shepard lowered his pistol as the man lowered his arms.

"You're… you're human! What are you doing out here? You'll lead them right here!" The man panicked, wringing his hands together. Jay kept his weapon trained on him.

"You had to hear them trying to get in. Seems like it's hard to hide from the Collectors." Jay pointed out, having dropped a Collector or two that had been by the door after he'd killed the one that was on fire.

"Those things are Collectors? You mean… they're real?" The man asked, breathlessly. It had obviously been a tough 24 hours for him. "I thought they were just made up. You know - propaganda. To keep us in Alliance space." That's when it appeared to hit him, "No! They got Lilith! I saw her go down. Sten, too. They got damn near everybody!"

"What's your name? What do you do here?" Shepard asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Names Delan. Mechanic. I came down to check on the main grid after we lost our comm. signals. Then I heard screaming." Delan replied, though he started to shake, evidently afraid, "I looked outside and there was… swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. I sealed the doors. Damn it - it's the Alliances fault! They stationed that Chief Williams here and built those defence towers. They made us a target!" Delan spat, not noticing the way Shepard tensed. Jay however, did.

"If you have defence towers, we can use them against the Collector ship!" Jacob called out from the back, nods of agreement from the entire group enforcing his point.

"You'd need to calibrate the targeting system first. It's never worked right." Delan shrugged.

"Did I hear calibrating?" Garrus piped up, stepping up to Shepard much to his amusement.

"Shouldn't be hard to work out. Just need the location." Mordin smiled, his weathered face showing the signs of age.

"Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. Pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base." Delan offered, lifting his blue and white cap off his head and running his free hand though his thin hair.

"Stay here." Jay said as they began to walk past. "Better for everyone then."

"Yeah… that's what I was thinking too." Delan said, slumping back against a few crates as the others walked out with their weapons raised. The door locked behind them.

* * *

"There it is. Home stretch now, people!" Jay called out over his shoulder as he led the way. They'd long ago lost contact with the _Normandy_ and EDI due to interference from the Collector ship and the storm. Slowly, the group made its way forward into the large, open area. Noticing the various crates and lifting gear dotted around.

"Seems like a bad place to put something as important as this to me." Jacob muttered, stepping past the Spartan. Jay couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Poor tactical thinking aside, we need to secure the area so Garrus can calibrate like he's never calibrated before." Shepard chuckled at his friends expense. Garrus walked past, muttering something about calibrations making the galaxy spin. Jay shook his head slowly as he chuckled as well, pulling his rifle up to his shoulder.

"Right side clear!" Jacob called out, making his way over to the left where Jay and Miranda were searching. Despite the occasional joke about them always teaming up, they actually were a great combination in combat. Miranda's biotics compliment Jay's many roles in combat. Jay could either hang back and use his sniper - in which case Miranda could pull them out of cover, or he could charge in and draw attention away from the others - while Miranda would use her biotics to protect him.

"Left side-" Miranda began before hearing the bone chilling moaning of Husks. This was her first time in combat against one, and she wasn't prepared for what she saw. Crawling out from under a nearby prefab was a blue husk, charging at her. She knew she should have raised her weapon and dropped it by now, but her muscles just weren't responding. Before she knew it, it was in front of her, reaching out it's hands to try and claw at her face.

Just as she prepared for the oncoming pain, a gurgling sound reached her ears. She slowly opened her eyes, spotting Jay standing there, the Husk looking into his faceplate as it's feet dangled above the floor. Jay had a gauntleted hand wrapped securely around it's throat. "Stay the fuck away from her." He growled dangerously. Despite the situation, Miranda felt something tighten in her stomach - but she didn't feel ill. She'd had the feeling a few times before, mainly back on Elysium and since, but she still couldn't place what it was.

Before anything else could happen, Jay threw the Husk to the floor and stamped on its neck, effectively killing it as he brought his weapon up and fired a few shots off at a few more approaching Husks. "We've got Husks, Shepard!" Jay called out, watching as Miranda spurred into action beside him, throwing biotic attacks in between firing her pistol.

"Collectors just dropped in too! Garrus, get up to the console, we'll cover you!" Shepard yelled on the other side of the crate from where they were stood.

After a few more seconds, the Husks in the immediate area appeared to have been dealt with. With a quick glance at each other, Jay and Miranda rushed off to help Shepard and the others. What they came upon once they rounded the crate wasn't what they were expecting.

A giant, Husk like creature was ambling along to where Shepard was firing at it. Thinking quickly, Jay tugged a grenade off of his best and tossed it towards the creature. It appeared to look like an oversized Husk, but when Jay zoomed in on it, it appeared to be multiple Husks fused together. The grenade stuck to and detonated on this new enemy and that seemed enough to draw it's attention. Jay fired a few shots into it, noticing how it just absorbed the shots and kept coming. Its gun-like appendage suddenly shook and Jay watched as blue, biotic pulses suddenly sped towards him on the ground.

With a grunt, Jay tossed Miranda over towards Shepards cover and attempted to dive after her, though he wasn't quick enough. The pulse was enough to toss him off his feet and back a good ten metres or so.

"Guys. They have biotic Husks." Jay groaned, standing up and noticing his weapon a few metres to his side. A quick few steps later and the weapon was back in his hand and dealing more damage yet again.

"We know." Grunt muttered, charging a second of the large abominations and poking his shotgun into it's stomach before pulling the trigger half a dozen times. The _thing_ fell over dead shortly before the third shot.

"Grunt, do that to the one that just tossed me in the air!" Jay yelled to the Krogan, dodging another of the pulse attacks. "Besides, Shepard, I thought _you_ were supposed to be the distraction this time?" Jay called over to the man who was currently reloading.

"What, and let you have all the fun? No chance." Shepard shot back, tossing a spare thermal clip over the gap between their cover to where Jay caught it easily and slapped in a fresh clip.

"Fuck you very much, Shepard." Jay replied, standing up quickly and placing a few shots into the facial area of the Husk. Much to Grunts disappointment, the Husk collapsed dead before the Krogan could get to it.

"Sorry big guy." Jay shrugged, earning a glare from the young Krogan.

"More Collectors! Garrus, how long until you've got it calibrated?" Shepard called out, pulling his rifle up to his shoulder.

"Just a few more minutes, Shepard!" He called back, ducking under a burst of fire from one of the Collectors. "Make that a few more minutes now!"

"I'm running low on clips! Anyone got any spare?" Jay called out, earning a pair of clips from Jacob. The Spartan nodded his thanks and placed them in the small duffel at the small of his back.

"Reaper's back!" Shepard called out, ducking under one of it's biotic attacks. "Grunt, do what you did to the Husk to him!"

"Heh. Heh. Heh." Grunt chuckled, jumping over his cover and charging the flaming Collector. A few seconds later and shotgun rounds were being fired into it's stomach.

"Two alpha tango's attempting to flank right." Jay pointed out, redirecting his fire to the two Collectors. A cry of pain caused him to pause and look over his shoulder to where Kasumi had been tagged in the arm. "Mordin, see to Kasumi!" Jay ordered, dropping down into cover again.

"Nearly done!" Garrus called out. "Just hold them off for a few more seconds!" He pleaded.

"You heard Garrus, don't let up!" Shepard ordered, watching as Jack charged a group of Collectors with her biotics, sending them flying against some crates behind them hard enough to snap their backs like twigs. Jay tossed another grenade into another cluster while everyone else simply shot their guns.

"Done!" Garrus called out, just before a giant metallic bug-like _thing_ crashed down on the floor right in front of Jay.

"What the fu-" Jay began, only to be swatted aside like a toy. The Spartan crashed through the side of a prefab.

"No!" Miranda yelled, images of Elysium passing through her head at supersonic speeds. She tried to get up next to Shepard but his grip on her arm pulled her back down.

"Don't be stupid! You're next if that thing see's you!" John hissed, edging around their cover as the creature slowly approached. A loud boom of a shotgun caused the creature to spin around at Grunt who was currently unloading his clip at this new enemy. None of the shots however seemed to be working.

"Anyone got any heavy weapons?" Zaeed called out hopefully from where he was hunkered down next to Mordin and an injured Kasumi.

"I've got something." John responded, pulling his launcher from his back. He spun around the cover and fired a trio of shots into the creatures face. When the blue, ball-like missiles connected with their target, the over-sized bug gave a scream of pain and lowered itself closer to the floor. Its 'face' was practically hanging off, revealing the various Husk-like faces within the actual armor.

"I'm out! Anyone got any grenades?" Shepard asked, tossing the spent weapon to the floor for now. Silence was his only response.

"_I do."_ Jay grunted into the comm.. Seconds later, the Spartan rushed the bug from the side at what appeared to be a full sprint for a Spartan. The Spartan lifted it off the ground slightly and threw it into the closest wall of a prefab. Jay rushed it again, this time launching himself feet first into its face, revealing more weak-points. With a quick grunt, Jay tore off his remaining bandolier of grenades, pulled the fuse on one of them and stuck them in between a pair of Husk heads. Quickly backing away, Jay half leapt and half fell over the nearest crate as the dull 'thump' of the grenades exploding sent the remains of the bug in separate directions.

A few moments later, as the ground team was regrouping, the sounds of the AA batteries began to sound off. As the crew looked up towards the sky, they saw the hit's the ship was taking blossom against the dark sky.

"Good work Jay. You too Garrus." Shepard nodded as they watched the ship begin to power up. A minute later and it was tearing off into the atmosphere, the shockwave causing the team to take one or two steps back. There was silence for a few moments before Jay collapsed to his knees, panting through his helmet before he quickly tore it off. He looked tired and in pain.

"Damn. Still tender." He groaned, holding his side as he grimaced slightly. Miranda and Mordin quickly appeared at his side, scanning him for any internal injuries.

"Remarkable. No broken bones or structural damage. Internal bruising however. Suggest rest when we reach the ship. Amazing." Mordin babbled, double checking his readings. Miranda knelt down beside him, a comforting hand on his left arm as he doubled over.

"You okay?" She asked quietly, a slight frown on her face. Jay just nodded as he panted.

"I'll be fine. Still a little sore from Elysium, and that… _thing_ didn't help. Don't worry about me." He attempted a smile, though it turned into a grimace as he picked up his helmet and slowly stood up. He didn't put the helmet back on however.

"I need to talk to you when we get back to the ship." Miranda whispered at his side, eyeing everyone around them. "In private." She added. Jay nodded slowly.

"Want me to meet you in your office?" He asked, frowning a little.

"No. I'll see you in your quarters." She smiled back slightly, trying to alleviate his concern. Jay nodded slowly, wondering what was going on. A voice cut off anything anyone was going to say.

"No! Don't let them get away!" Delan shouted as the crew watched the Collector ship escape into orbit.

"There's nothing we can do, Delan. They're gone." Shepard replied, sad he hadn't been quicker and angry he couldn't do more.

"Half the colony is still in there! They took Egan and Sam and… and Lilith. Do something!" Delan demanded, looking up at the sky and pacing back and forth.

"I didn't want it to end this way. I'm sorry." Shepard said, shaking his head as he picked up his discarded launcher and placed it on his back.

"No reason for regret, Shepard. Nobody else could do better." Mordin nodded, consoling the Commander - a small smile on his face for encouragement. Delan paused, turning around.

"Shepard. Wait. I know that name. Sure I remember you. You're some type of big Alliance hero." Delan spoke up, causing Shepard to groan.

"Commander Shepard. Captain of the _Normandy_. The first human Spectre. Saviour of the Citadel. You're in the presence of a god, Delan. Back from the dead." A woman in pink and white armor spoke up, stepping around a crate.

"All the good people we lost, and you get left behind. Figures." Delan spat, crossing his arms and looking at the woman in disgust. "Screw this! I'm done with you Alliance types." He declared, storming off into the colony to look for any other survivors.

Slowly, the woman approached Shepard. Jay still wasn't sure if he should draw his pistol on her or not. Suddenly she wrapped Shepard in a hug. A hug that the Commander returned. "I thought you were dead, Shepard. We all did." She breathed, seemingly burying herself into the Commander.

"I was dead. I've only been awake for a couple of weeks. I tried to contact you, Ash." Shepard replied, shuddering at the memory. Ashley frowned, looking up at her old CO and lover.

"You really died?" She asked, confused. She stepped back a little, trying to take in the Commander and his new team. When John looked confused and nodded slowly, she elaborated, "We got a tip Cerberus was abducting the colonists. We heard this one might be next - and that you were with them." She winced at the look of hurt and disbelief that crossed his face.

"Ash, you know me. I'd never side with Cerberus. I'm using their resources to bring down the Collectors - and the Reapers." Shepard pleaded, holding her hands in his. Despite the armor, it still sent pleasant shivers down both of their spines.

"I-I know. But…" She tried, finding herself torn between her duty to the Alliance and what she felt for Shepard. "I… I have to get back to Anderson." She tried weakly. Shepard sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to join him. He watched as the crew awkwardly began looking and wandering around the area, attempting to give Shepard some sense of privacy. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Jay standing there, looking confused and amused at the same time, Miranda tugging on his arm in an attempt to move him. When Jay spotted him giving him the stink eye, Jay quickly retreated, Miranda jogging to keep up.

A soft chuckle in front of him brought his attention back to Ashley, "Who's that?" She asked, amused.

"That's Jay, our resident Spartan." Shepard grinned, "He's Alliance." He smiled, looking at her shocked expression.

"A Spartan? From Elysium?" She asked, obviously she'd heard the scuttlebutt from the Alliance marines that had been around since the Skyllian Blitz. Shepard nodded, grinning.

"He led them." He stated proudly, playfully jutting his chin out. Ashley giggled, turning into the woman he'd fallen head over heels for in what felt like a simpler time in a simpler galaxy in their hunt for Saren.

"Seems impressive. Who was that with them? Do I have to kick some skanks ass?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's Miranda Lawson, my XO. Word on the ship ever since she and Jay took a trip to Elysium - that's classified by the way," He added when he saw her open her mouth, "is that they hooked up down there." He chuckled, though he stopped when he remembered the state they'd found Jay in.

"What happened down there?" Ashley asked, noticing his change in mood. Shepard shook his head slowly as the image faded from his mind.

"Long story short, Jay got his ass kicked and died three times on the way back to the ship." John deadpanned, frowning.

"Three times?" She gasped, her eyebrows practically reaching her hairline. She looked over his shoulder and nodded slowly as she spotted the Spartan and the XO talking amongst themselves, grinning at each other.

"Yeah. That was… a week ago, roughly? I'm having trouble distinguishing days. Barely slept all week." Shepard sighed, running a hand over his tired face.

"Damn. Tough son of a bitch, huh?" She grinned. She paused for a moment, her grin faltering after a moment, though a smile never left her face. "Look, Shepard. I wish I could join back up with you, but I can't. Not yet. You survive this, then come and find me." She ordered her superior, gently pressing her lips against his. It had been two years for her, but only a few weeks for him. He returned the kiss with a passion that always left her breathless.

Jay looked to his right and spotted the Commander kissing the woman - Ashley. He snorted, "I can count about six different regulations off the top of my head against that." He muttered, smiling despite his statement. Miranda glanced at him, a slight frown on her face.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked, glad the small amount of fear she felt wasn't in her voice. She prided herself at being professional.

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with it as far as I'm concerned. Hell, even a few Spartans hooked up in the past." He replied, matching her raised eyebrow with one of his own.

"Spartans were together?" She asked, one part surprised and another amused.

"Yeah. Lisa and Dan were together. Sam and Linda too. A few others, but… Y'know." He shrugged, earning him a pointed look from the woman stood over him as he was sat on a crate.

"Did you ever 'hook up' with anyone?" Miranda asked, using air quotes to emphasise her point. Jay chuckled slightly.

"Is that jealousy I detect, Ms Lawson?" Jay asked, causing Miranda to freeze slightly, though when he carried on, she made a point of listening, "And no, I didn't." He snorted.

"Why not?" She asked, confused. She sat down next to the large man as he ran a hand through his hair. It was already growing quickly.

"Never really saw much point." He shrugged, "Besides, I wasn't attracted to anyone before."

"Before? So what, you're attracted to someone now?" Miranda asked, raising an eyebrow and attempting to suppress a smile. She mentally kicked herself for acting like a teenage girl.

"Maybe." Jay nodded slowly, a slight pink tinge on his cheeks. Miranda nodded back slowly.

"Well, maybe you should tell them." She offered, tugging off her own gauntlets from her armor.

"I'll tell Grunt right away then." Jay replied with a straight face, not missing the fact Miranda's jaw dropped so low and so quickly he swore he heard the thud of it hitting the floor.

"S-s-seriously?" Miranda sputtered, still reeling in shock. Jay barked out a laugh, leaning back as he held his stomach.

"O-of course not." He managed between bouts of laughter. Miranda just slapped his armored left bicep as he continued chuckling to himself. Eventually he managed to reign in his amusement enough to think coherently again.

"Ass." She muttered as they stood up, watching as the _Normandy_ came into view over the settlement, it's bay door opening for a Kodiak to slip out to pick up the ground crew.

"There's our ride." Jay muttered, turning to look at Miranda. "So when should I expect you to come talk to me?" He asked, picking his helmet up slowly. Miranda appeared to think about it for a few moments.

"How about when everyone is eating? I'll grab us something to eat and I'll bring it down so we can eat and talk." She offered, smiling a little despite herself. She paused when Jay said,

"It's a date then." He nodded as he stepped on the Kodiak, grinning at her cheekily.

* * *

"Come in!" Jay called through the door when he heard the knock. As expected it was Miranda, expertly balancing two trays in her hands. She was out of her armor and all freshened up, as was Jay - though he wasn't the one wearing a black and white cat suit. He mentally kicked himself and forced himself to look up at her face before he was caught.

"Hey." She smiled slightly, seeing him sat at his desk using his terminal. "I'm not interrupting, am I?" She asked.

Jay shook his head, smiling, "Nope. Perfect timing actually. Just finished reading an email I got from someone I sent one to." He replied, noticing her amused expression, he shrugged, "Spartan stuff." He added shyly. She nodded slowly, setting one tray onto his cot and one on his desk in front of him.

They began eating silently, occasionally stealing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. When the two of them were finished, Jay quickly emptied his bottle of water and let out a quiet and muffled burp, causing the woman opposite him to snort in amusement.

"No table manners at Spartan school?" She asked playfully, seeing the grin on his face.

"Of course! Never eat with your hands. Duh." He said, as if it were obvious. The two of them chuckled before relaxing in their respective positions in the room. "So, what'd you want to talk about?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow as he smiled.

"Nothing really. I figured you'd get bored and make a trip up to my office in an attempt to amuse yourself." She smiled, "Besides, you're always going to other people and nobody ever seems to come down here." She shrugged.

"Garrus and Shepard occasionally come to talk, but it's usually mission related… or politician related." He chuckled, remembering the Udina incident. He'd noticed a few crew members avoiding him since then. A few had even applauded him.

"But they don't know you like I do." Miranda finished for him, receiving a smile and a nod in return.

"That's true." Jay said after a moment of comfortable silence, "And I know more about you than a lot of people. To be fair, I think quite a lot of men - and women - would be a little envious with how well I know you." Jay snickered, remembering the shower incident on Elysium.

"Oh god…" Miranda groaned in embarrassment, burying her head in her hands.

"Oh please, it wasn't a bad view. Seen better, but-" He teased, grinning, noticing Miranda's shocked expression.

"Better? Like what?" She demanded, her competitive streak getting the better of her. Jay began chuckling, close to falling off his chair.

"Better like a Black Widow MK X with an extended barrel and improved bullet penetration." He replied automatically. "Seriously, the thing just…" He began, but ended up smiling happily at the thought of the weapon, Miranda's grinned silently as she observed the Spartan.

Soon, the two of them were leaning against the wall, heads leaning back against the wall and their legs out comfortably. Jay sighed, "So… do you know where we're headed next?" He asked, looking to his left where Miranda was propped up against the wall.

"Illium." She sighed happily as well. "We're scheduled to stay there for a week or so. The ship will be getting upgraded while we're there. We're supposed to be getting a new Thanix cannon and some top of the line armor." She smiled, looking to her right at Jay, her breath hitching again from the close proximity of their faces.

"Good." Jay nodded slowly, still looking at Miranda, "By the way, did you seriously set up a bank account for me?" He asked, touched by the kindness of it. Miranda could only bring herself to nod slowly.

"I-I did. You should have about a hundred and fifty thousand credits in it for now. I'll add some more to it once we finish the mission and you go back to the Alliance." She added after a moment, looking down at her legs. Jay sighed sadly as well, the dull thud of his head connecting with the wall behind him was the loudest sound in the room.

"I don't know if I want to go back to the Alliance if I'm honest." He admitted, finally. Miranda's head snapped up so fast she thought she may get whiplash.

"You don't? Why not?" She asked, almost a little too hopefully. Jay shrugged next to her.

"I'm tired of fighting. My Spartans are all KIA or MIA. I feel like a relic, to be displayed in a museum like on Elysium." He shrugged, finally looking at Miranda again. He could detect the suppressed excitement and happiness she was trying to hide, though he was good enough at reading people and knew her well enough to know what she was like.

"Why's that? You're still one of the best soldier's I've ever seen, why give it all up?" She asked, genuinely interested as she turned her whole body to look at him.

"But I'm not though. I remember Elysium. I remember how quickly I got my ass handed to me, and though I know I have to faster and stronger if I ever run into him again, there's nothing in the Alliance left for me. I grew up surrounded by people that were just like me. I bled with them, fought with them and was happy with them. Now I'm the only one left." He shrugged, smiling as his mind wandered off to all the possibilities open to him at the end of the mission.

"You should do what you want to do, Jay." Miranda encouraged, genuinely surprised at the confession. For saying how little time they actually knew each other and got along, he had a profound impact on her.

"I don't know..." He spoke slowly, pausing for a moment. He looked as if he were about to say something but though better of it.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"Nothing, I'll tell you some other time." He smiled at her, chuckling at her frown as she crossed her arms. "Not so fun when it happens to you, is it?" He asked, sticking his tongue out at her.

Miranda gaped, not sure how to respond to that. She'd decided to put off what she was going to say to him earlier, and yet he'd known she was lying. The prospect both terrified and excited her. Nobody had been able to spot her tells in the past apart from her father and Niket. "How did you know?" She asked, barely louder than a whisper.

"You get good at reading body language when everyone around you is in a giant suit of armor generally used on capital ships." Jay replied dryly.

"Ass." Miranda smirked, swatting his chest. Jay chuckled quietly.

"So, you gonna tell me why you _really_ came down here?" He asked, resting his head back against the wall. Miranda nodded for a moment.

"Okay." She replied slowly before she launched herself at the Spartan, capturing his lips with her own. A low moan escaped her throat as he returned the kiss, despite the smirk she felt against her lips. _Bastard_, she thought with an internal chuckle. As she twisted her body to face him in a more comfortable position, she lifted her left leg and draped it over his own thighs so she was straddling him as she deepened the kiss.

After a further few moments of passionate kissing, the two broke apart, gasping for air. "If that's what you need to tell me from now on, then by all means do so." Jay gaped at Miranda as she sat back on his thighs. She was deceptively light, though that could just be his augmentations.

"So…" She said after a few moments silence. Jay chuckled as he raised his eyebrows at her.

"That's genuinely what you wanted to talk to me about?" He asked, still slightly shell-shocked.

Miranda nodded her head shyly, a slight blush on her otherwise creamy cheeks. "Yeah… I just… Y'know… It was weird, wasn't it?" She asked, worry and disappointment already attacking her insides for when she expected Jay to shoot her down. She nibbled her bottom lip nervously.

"No." Jay replied slowly, watching as her eyes widened and a grin equal to his own spread across her face. He chuckled again. "That was all green in my book, ma'am" He grinned, thoroughly amused.

"I thought-" She began, though the words died in her throat when Jay kissed her again. It felt like a long time coming.

When they broke apart again, she said, "This is going to be a good mission." When the Spartan nodded in response, she laughed quietly and kissed him again.

* * *

**AN:** Okay! So, thank you to everyone that's been reading this and keeping up with it!

2000 views a month, wow! I'm humbled, ever so humbled!

Okay, so this is Chapter 7 of this story and as sad as I am to announce this, I only ever wrote 8 chapters. Do you guys want me to keep writing this or...? Let me know in a review! If I don't see any responses to the question, I'll take it as a no and allow this to fade gracefully - no point continuing it if nobody wants to see any more of it.

Right, I've had a few messages concerning the character of Miranda and the direction I've taken with her. Now, as we've seen in this so far it's mostly been Jay and Miranda interacting with one another. While I admit, this was for my own selfish reasons, there was also logic to my madness. When I played the Mass Effect series and saw the character of Miranda, I was quite amazed at the similarities between her and Yvonne's character of 'Sarah Walker' in CHUCK. So, me being me, thought that it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that some part of her 'icy' exterior is a defense mechanism created from being designed as the 'Perfect Woman'. Much like Sarah puts on a mask in the TV show.

With her defense mechanism, comes an opportunity to exploit. What would happen if she were to meet someone also bred to be perfect? Would they hit it off straight away? Would they become rivals? The possibilities are endless. While Miranda puts on her infamous facade, Jay cracks jokes and tries to act easy going - which isn't the case inside. Their defence mechanisms are polar opposites, and yet they couldn't be any more similar.

I have to be honest though, about 90% of my reasoning behind the pairing is because Miranda Lawson is hot-pixels and Yvonne is just... just... I can't even brain how attractive she is...

... Sigh...

So yeah, moment over - let me know if you guys want to see a chapter 9, 10, 11 etc!

Your ever so humble provider of reading material,

Invieri


	8. Chapter 8

\- CHAPTER 8

Jay groaned as he woke, rolling his head to the side as he slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry when his eyes finally fluttered open. He looked around, as per his usual routine as he took in his surroundings, though when he looked to his right he paused ever so slightly.

On the desk was a small data chip that he'd discovered lodged into the back of his helmet that he'd received courtesy of Shepard after the Elysium mission. It was small, smaller than his palm and glowed slightly at the touch - well, his touch in any event. The middle of the chip had piqued his curiosity if he was honest with himself - it appeared as if it was in constant motion, as if there was some form of digital liquid within that was just beyond his understanding. Using his knowledge of his armor and his experiences with various technologies while on Ops in the past, he knew that the static that he experienced was nothing to do with the Collector ship causing interference - the suits were designed against EMP's. That left only the chip.

He sighed, running a hand down his face as he dropped his head back onto his pillow. Looking up at the ceiling, he spoke up quietly enough not to bother anyone that may have been in the cargo hold outside his quarters, "EDI, what time is it?"

"Current ship time is 0500, Jay." Came the disembodied response. Jay groaned at the time, but nevertheless slowly pulled himself out of the comfort of his bed as he reached down under his bed for the exercise clothes that had been provided for the entire crew along with the standard BDU's.

Quickly changing, he watched the chip on his desk wearily, expecting it to do _something_ at a moments notice. Jay sighed, deciding to forgo the shirt, tossing it onto his desk as he quietly walked out. As he made his way across the small distance between his quarters and the elevator, he noted the few crates stacked off to the side, no doubt supplies loaded during their brief stop at the Citadel. At least the crew would get a better shore leave on Illium. Jay quickly called for the elevator.

When the elevator arrived, the Spartan quickly stepped into it's open doors, keying in the key to the gym located a deck below the bay so as to keep it out of the way. A few seconds later and the door pinged open, revealing the full gym at his disposal. With a small grin, Jay began by stepping up onto a treadmill and setting it to the highest speed. He almost laughed aloud when he began sprinting along on it, his heavy footfalls thudding along in a rhythm that the soldier in him got lost in.

He thought back to training.

He thought back to his Spartans.

He thought about Elysium.

And he thought about Dan.

Jay growled in frustration, thinking about the whole thing for the first time properly since it happened. He'd tried to put off thinking about it, but now that there was nothing to do but exercise he found his own mind turning against him. Why had he done it? Why was he so much quicker and stronger? Had he really lost his touch? What if they met again? Jay was scared, for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do. He needed direction - orders. How was he supposed to retire after this mission if he was suffering like he was. Did he even want to leave the Alliance? Despite all he'd said the previous night, Jay felt like he belonged somewhat in the Alliance - he could serve again. Be the soldier that Humanity needed him to be.

Panting, Jay hopped off of the treadmill, having worked up a light sweat and made his way over to the bench press, lifting a good number of the heaviest weights onto the bar. The weights were nothing but therapeutic for the super-soldier, he doubted when the gym was designed that it had Spartans in mind. With a contented sigh, he lay down on the bench and began pumping the bar in a similar rhythm to when he was running. He grinned to himself as he felt the sweat begin to build up a little, the clank of the weights relaxing him and calming his thoughts. He paused, thinking about last night - the bar still in the air.

What was the situation with Miranda? Sure, he was drawn to her and he felt a connection with her - and she even understood what he went through, having seen all the footage from Elysium in the museum and the facility, but what was he to her? Was he something to be thrown away at the end of the mission? Was he… disposable? Replaceable? Was he just another asset? He shook his head, bringing the bar back down to his chin one final time as he looked at the clock.

0630

He'd spent an hour and a half down here already? He shook his head one final time as he brought his breathing back under control before heading over to the punching bags hanging from the ceiling. Quickly retrieving some tape, he made sure to wrap his knuckles - not that they weren't already scarred from similar workouts when he was younger - and stupider.

He began with a right jab, followed by a left jab to the section just below his first punch. If he were punching a Turian, Batarian or human - they'd have multiple broken ribs already. He smirked at that, though it quickly disappeared. What would he do to get by if he retired? What else was he good at? He sighed, cursing himself and the Alliance for losing out on a civilian life. He cursed himself for not bringing himself to think about a life outside the Spartan programme before the mission and he cursed the Alliance for taking him from his family when he was young. Sure, Jay was bitter - so were a few of the Spartans, but they knew their duty, their purpose…

_Jay sat in a dark room, men in uniforms were spaced evenly apart as they stared straight ahead with no facial expressions. Jay was worried. What was he doing here? Had he done something wrong since the lady came to talk to him? He sat on the front row, right in the middle where one of the men had pushed him down to. There were other kids here with him, all looking just as confused and worried as he. He spotted a tall girl with blue hair and green eyes glaring at a man who had just pushed her into her seat. When she turned to look at him, he offered a weak smile, hoping it'd make him feel better about the situation as it appeared to make her._

_A familiar voice spoke from a podium in the small atrium, causing Jay's head to snap towards the sound, a small frown on his young features. "You have been called upon to serve. We understand you were taken from your homes, your families, friends." Catherine began, casting her gaze over everyone in the room._

"_As per Naval Code 45812, you are hereby conscripted into the Alliance Special Project, codenamed SPARTAN II. You have been called upon to serve. You will be trained... and you will become the best we can make of you. You will be the protectors of Earth and all her colonies. This will be hard to understand, but you cannot return to your parents. This place will become your home. Your fellow trainees will be your family now. The training will be difficult. There will be a great deal of hardship on the road ahead, but I know you will all make it. Rest now. We begin tomorrow._"

Jay threw a final punch into the sand filled bag, snapping it off its chain as he stood there panting.

"You green, Jay?" Came the voice of Shepard, standing in the doorway to the gym next to a few gaping crew members. Jacob and Miranda among them, though Miranda looked more worried than most - everyone else seemed to be in awe.

"I'm green, sir." Jay replied after a brief glance in his direction, reciting one of the many marine phrases. A small 'Oorah!' could be heard from Jacob as Jay began hanging another bag, preparing to lay into it again.

"Alright people, show's over." Shepard spoke up, watching as the assembled crew began to disperse with the exception of Jacob and Miranda. "Anything you want to talk about?" Shepard asked, walking up to the shirtless Spartan, noting the various tattoos adorning his body.

"No sir. Just thinking is all." Jay replied, grunting as he threw another salvo of hits.

"Anything in particular?" Shepard tried, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall near where Jay was still working out his stress, Miranda and Jacob silently joining him, though he noted Miranda placed herself between Jay and the other two. Jay snorted quietly to himself, believing he was reading too much into it.

"Just about everything that's happened since I woke up, Commander." Jay sighed, finally ceasing his workout, a decent sweat having been worked up. His bare chest rose and fell with each powerful breath of air he swallowed, and he raised an eyeborw to himself when he caught Miranda staring. Though when he looked down, he also realised it could be due to the various tattoo's on his stomach.

"Ah. Well, if you ever feel like talking, my door is always open. You know that, right?" Shepard asked, patting him on the arm as Jacob nodded his agreement. Jay nodded, thankful for the offer.

"Yes, sir." He replied, smiling a little despite his earlier thoughts. He watched as the two men left the room, leaving only the silent Miranda and he.

"What's wrong?" She asked suddenly, sitting down on the bench press and crossing her legs as she gave him a particular look that he couldn't place. Jay shrugged, leaning against the cold wall and slowly sliding down it - thankful he was only wearing shorts.

"Nothing. Just got thinking about everything is all. It's why Spartans were generally kept busy. We get all worked up if we're not doing something." He sighed, leaning his head backwards slightly.

"We were just on Horizon yesterday." Miranda reminded him, calling him on his pathetic excuse. Jay sighed and was silent for a moment or two.

"I was thinking about Elysium." He swallowed, noting the slight wringing of her hands when he named the topic.

Miranda sat there for a moment, completely silent as her mouth seemed to work, yet no words came out, "I don't know what it's like to go through something like that. I give pretty pathetic advice to be honest." She eventually managed.

"It's fine. Honestly." Jay nodded, "It's the first time I've really had chance to think about it since it all happened. Just got to make sure I'm prepared for next time. If there even _is_ a next time." He snorted, rolling his eyes briefly.

"Is there anything I can do?" She offered, standing up and kneeling in front of him. He let out a tired snort as he wiped some swear out of his eyes.

"No. I'm good, honestly." He began, though he paused, his mouth slightly ajar as an idea formed in his head, "Actually, there is."

Miranda smiled slightly, "Anything. What do you need?"

"You can answer a question for me, if that's okay with you?" Jay asked, rolling one of his shoulders as he began to push himself up to his full height.

"I'll do my best." Miranda smiled, placing her still gloved hands on his chest as she looked up at him. Jay smiled a little at the contact. It was the most human she'd appeared since he'd met her. He still remembered Miranda giving him the stink eye the morning after he'd turned down her offer to join Cerberus.

"What does being a Spartan mean to you? To someone on the outside, I mean." He asked cautiously. He tried not give anything away with his facial expressions, but outside of his suit, he always had trouble appearing 'detached'.

"Well, that's a difficult question really. I mean, you're everything Humanity should strive to be - strong, unmovable and intelligent. To someone that isn't part of your program, you're like legends - whispers heard among crew. Not even the STG know who you really are. Why do you ask?" Miranda inquired, raising an eyebrow and frowning slightly. Jay grunted, not trusting himself to speak in a way that presented his thoughts clearly. Miranda hummed quietly to herself before she began, "I admit, I'm not a fan of your augmentations after what I saw in the security recordings." She admitted, causing Jay to tense a little. She seemed to sense this and quickly added, "But I understand why they were done. Humanity needs you and your Spartans, Jay. Cerberus may claim to be the voice of Humanity but the reputation of the organisation means that we'll never get the support that a Spartan could. Imagine if you were made public - your achievements made available to whomever wanted to see them. You would be an inspiration to everyone as something that we as a species can strive to become." She announced, smiling.

"And my failures? Are they to be forgotten also?" Jay asked, frowning in thought at her.

"Nobody is perfect, no matter how much armor you put them in." She offered back, before swatting him in the stomach, "Now, we're only a short while from being offered leave - I believe you still have some duties to see to?" She teased, standing as Jay stood at his full height in what appeared to have been longer than it actually had - she'd forgotten how tall he was.

* * *

"Edi, halt all signals leaving this room please." Jay asked as he entered his room. The ship had recently docked at the city world of Illium and the crew was making the most of the leave they were offered. A skeleton crew would work the upgrades and refits on rotating shifts so that everyone was offered a chance to relax. The near silent hum that chimed right before EDI's hologram would appear alerted him to her presence just prior to her voice confirming his request.

"All signals blocked, Jay." She supplied before winking out of existence.

Jay sighed, running his hand down his face briefly as he looked down at the desk - he had to try and contain this as much as he could if this idea of his went FUBAR. Hopefully, EDI would be able to run interference - though if his precaution worked, it would make no difference in the long run.

It had garnered a few curious looks, walking down to his quarters in his full armor - minus the helmet. There were no combat missions scheduled and they were on leave - so what was he wearing it for? The answer was simple - he was going to return that chip into his armor.

He gently picked up the helmet that was placed carefully on his desk with as much care as he could - it was ridiculous, the armor could take more of a beating than half the ships in the Alliance fleet, but that didn't stop his fear. He felt the helmets padding mold around his head as it was lowered before hearing the telltale _snap-hiss_ of the suit sealing itself against toxins and a lack of atmosphere. He sighed happily for a moment, feeling the familiar weight of his armor on his body - he felt like was was home.

For a few brief moments, he couldn't see anything through the helmet until all of a sudden, the HUD flared to life, revealing his lifesigns, shield strength, suit integrity, radar, ammo-counter and tactical read-outs of the surrounding area. He looked down for a moment, hearing the slight creak of the undersuit below the plates of armor. He loved familiarity.

On the desk, the chip continued to glow slightly - the small disc in the center of the chip a bit brighter than usual. Sucking in a breath, he quickly picked it up and slotted it into the back of his helmet.

He dropped to a knee, clenching his fists and slamming his eyes shut as his teeth ground together. It felt like someone was pouring mercury into his brain before a cold spike of pain replaced it for the briefest of moments. After what felt like millenia, the pain all but vanished - but nothing had changed on his suits read-outs. All except for a minor fluctuation in power from his on-board power plant. While it took an immense amount of power to actually use the Mjolnir armor, early versions had been unable to find a suitable power-pack for the power armor unless they were plugged into a source of some sort.

The current generation he was wearing was the second generation in the two that carried their own supply. Miniature fission reactors sat on his back, constantly supplying him with energy and when his lifesigns would flatline for a certain amount of time, would detonate in a controlled explosion that would incinerate the armor and surrounding environment for a kilometre. It was why so much of Elysium was still rubble - reminders of fallen Spartans.

While normally, the slight power fluctuation in his gear would be easily missed - he was actively searching for something like that to happen. Whatever this was, it couldn't hide from him. He stood after a moment and turned off his external speakers and squared his shoulders, "Alliance override code Zeta dash three dash Sierra zero four nine. This is Gunnery Chief Petty Officer Sierra 049. Identify yourself." He commanded in the strongest voice he could muster at the time. Only silence answered him.

As he was lifting his arm to remove the chip, a small window appeared on his HUD - a small box of text filling it with a single question.

/[_You won't hurt me, will you?_]/

"No, I won't cause you any harm as long as you don't threaten the interests of Humanity and the Alliance." He replied honestly. Should whatever construct it was that was residing in his armor pose a threat to the Alliance, he wouldn't think twice about snapping that data chip in two.

The text disappeared after he answered, replacing it with a digital rendering of a woman - a blue woman with shoulder length hair that she kept tucking behind her left ear in some sort of imitation of a nervous woman. She did look strikingly familiar, however. He noted her body - as much as he could see at least, which meant her shoulders and up. There seemed to be lines of random code that were acting as a sort of censor to her appearance... was this construct naked?

"Identify yourself." He ordered, pushing aside all thought but what was happening in the here and now.

"Alliance AI. Serial number CTN0452-9 - but you can call me Cortana." The woman on his HUD winked.

* * *

**Authors Note:**

Okay, so I admit this last chapter came out a little later than I'd planned - I had to rewrite most of it due to changes I've made in plot/character development throughout the prior chapters.

Also, I completely admit that I forgot all about this after starting College once again - sorry!

So I've seen a few reviews that want me to continue this fic, and I think I'm going to take them up on the challenge. This is something I haven't really put any time into in over a year so it'll be fun to take the project back up, but I can't put down a schedule for any chapters. They'll come as they come I'm afraid.

So for now, enjoy this cliffhanger and the admittedly short chapter but I thought, hey - what a great place to end it on, right? Right? Okay, so I suck - sue me.

Please don't.

Right, see you all when the next chapter comes out!

Invieri


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